06-24-2008, 20:18
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#1
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Area Commander
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: VA
Posts: 1,149
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I.D. of Body in Fayetteville Motel a Soldier
Body found at motel ID'd as pregnant soldier
Posted: Today at 5:08 p.m.
Updated: Today at 7:27 p.m.
Fayetteville, N.C. — Authorities on Tuesday identified the body of a woman found Saturday in a Fayetteville motel as a Fort Bragg soldier.
Spc. Megan Touma, 24, who was assigned to the 19th Replacement Detachment, was seven months pregnant at the time of her death, police said.
Fort Bragg officials said Touma was assigned to the base earlier this month. A dental specialist from Cold Springs, Ky., who had been in the Army for five years, she previously was assigned to Army dental clinics in Germany and at Fort Drum, N.Y., officials said.
Touma's body was found Saturday morning in a room at the Fairfield Inn at 5000 Morganton Road. Police said she appeared to have been dead for about two days before she was found.
The cause of her death hasn't been determined.
Touma is the second pregnant service member to die in North Carolina this year. Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was found dead near Camp Lejeune in January. A fellow Marine, Cpl. Cesar Laurean, has been charged in her death and is awaiting extradition from Mexico.
A private memorial service for Touma will be held Friday at Hope Chapel.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Fayetteville Police Department at 910-433-1856.
__________________
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We must always fear the wicked. But there is another kind of evil that we must fear the most, and that is the indifference of good men - Boondock Saints
Iraq was never lost and Afghanistan was never quite the easy good war. Those in the media too often pile on and follow the polls rather than offer independent analysis. Campaign rhetoric and politics are one thing - the responsibility of governance is quite another.
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AngelsSix is offline
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06-25-2008, 05:27
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#2
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Fayetteville
Posts: 13,080
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In the Fay Observer this AM
The Story was in the Fayetteville observer this AM.
Staying there while looking for a place to live?
Sad end for a young soldier. SPC Touma, you and your little one rest in peace.
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Pete is offline
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06-25-2008, 09:18
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#3
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 4,530
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Rest easy, Specialist.
On another note, the Fairfield Inn doesn't clean their rooms daily?
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Razor is offline
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06-25-2008, 09:32
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#4
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,805
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Razor
Rest easy, Specialist.
On another note, the Fairfield Inn doesn't clean their rooms daily?
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RIP.
On your other note, I have a story to tell about that same motel.
Several years ago, I was staying there TDY with a room booked for four nights. There were very few guests, maybe ten cars in the lot for the entire motel. I had moved some of my luggage into the room and had gone to a friends' house for dinner. I had a couple of beers and decide to crash at the house for the night.
I went straight to work the next morning, and went by to grab a quick shower and change at lunchtime.
I swipe my keycard and open the door to find a man and woman going at it on my bed.
I mumbled sorry, closed the door, rechecked the room number and went to the front desk.
Suspecting that this will exceed the clerk's ability to resolve the issue, I ask for the manager. He arrives and asks what he can do for me. I ask him how many different people the same room can be rented to simultaneously. He does not get it, so I explain the situation. The manager informs me that the staff did not notice my garment bag or shaving kit there, and "assumed" that I had departed without checking out. I ask why they had to reuse the same room a guest might be returning to (and that they had a credit card charge going against), and there was no good answer there either. I also asked why they had not changed the programming on the key card for the new guests. Frankly, it looked like he had loaned the room out for a nooner, but it made me wonder enough about their policies that I never stayed there again, after that trip. And yes, I did ask them to give me another room, with clean sheets.
Strange goings on, but not the conspiracy the media seems to be making it out to be.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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06-25-2008, 11:19
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#5
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Consigliere
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland (at last)
Posts: 8,824
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LOL TR, I'm tempted to chop that story out and put it in Briefback!
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Roguish Lawyer is offline
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06-25-2008, 11:39
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#6
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,805
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roguish Lawyer
LOL TR, I'm tempted to chop that story out and put it in Briefback!
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Makes me wonder if they were still issuing the same sort of keys and not changing the encoding between guests.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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06-25-2008, 13:24
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#7
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BANNED USER
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,189
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I personally know her family and knew her. Coldspring, Kentucky is literally about 200 yards from where I'm typing this.
They where members of our Church, the 1st Baptist Church of Coldspring. Megan graduated from same highschool, Cambell County High.
RIP Megan. This is truely sad news and it's just now circulating through out the cummunity today and late yesterday.
Edit to add. They lived on Uhl Road, just 5 minutes from the church. The parents are now in Kansas. Didn't know that, but since they've not been around church it now makes sense.
RIP Megan.
Last edited by 82ndtrooper; 06-25-2008 at 13:49.
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82ndtrooper is offline
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06-25-2008, 13:47
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#8
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BANNED USER
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,189
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reaper
Makes me wonder if they were still issuing the same sort of keys and not changing the encoding between guests.
TR
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Never mind, it was a Fairfield Inn.
Last edited by 82ndtrooper; 06-25-2008 at 14:00.
Reason: Question has been answered via phone call.
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82ndtrooper is offline
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06-25-2008, 14:34
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#9
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Area Commander
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 2,952
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Rest In Peace!
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Red Flag 1 is offline
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06-26-2008, 02:32
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#10
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: OCONUS...again
Posts: 4,702
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reaper
Makes me wonder if they were still issuing the same sort of keys and not changing the encoding between guests.
TR
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Most "modern" hotels nowadays, can tell when ever you (customer) use a key to enter a room.
If it was up to me...I'd use the same system in the barracks for soldiers. 
Stay safe.
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“It is better to have sheep led by a lion than lions led by a sheep.”
-DE OPPRESSO LIBER-
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Guy is offline
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06-26-2008, 04:56
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#11
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Fayetteville
Posts: 13,080
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More from today's FayOb
More from today's Fayetteville Observer.
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=297734
Somebody at the Repo Company tried to cut her some slack, not knowing she was dead, and is going to get spanked.
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Pete is offline
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06-26-2008, 07:57
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#12
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete
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She reported in last Thursday, and made formations. She was released Thursday at 1500 and had Friday off. She failed to make the Monday morning formations, and her body was discovered Tuesday.
So someone in the unit carried her for 24 hours or so after a three day weeeknd, without reporting her AWOL after 24 hours. That would have only been a few hours before her body was found.
She was provided a barracks room, and elected to stay in the hotel at her own expense. Not sure if she provided her CoC her off-post contact info.
Did someone fail to follow the regs. Yes. Was this a particularly egregious act? I do not think so. The report was that she had been dead for several days, so declaring her missing at Monday morning PT formation, and listing her as AWOL Tuesday would have accomplished nothing other than to find her body a day earlier, IF they knew where she was staying. How many of us have covered for someone who was not where they were supposed to be? Yet we risk this every time we do so.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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06-26-2008, 09:52
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#13
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Fayetteville
Posts: 13,080
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True
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reaper
Did someone fail to follow the regs. Yes. Was this a particularly egregious act? I do not think so......... How many of us have covered for someone who was not where they were supposed to be? Yet we risk this every time we do so.
TR
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What you say is true. But with us if somebody is missing at 0630 somebody, the SGM, is going to want to know the status of the individual by 0900.
The true point of this is for the younger guys. When you are not in the proper place at the appointed time your superior, the Team Sergeant, is on the hook to the SGM.
Getting a call at 0300 that one of the young studs was doing 100 in a 55 200 miles from post and is now locked up and needs to make bail does not put a SGM in a good mood. He might just want to let the TS stew a bit after the TS reports "All present" and the SGM asks the TS to report to his office with the young lad after the formation.
Must be a universal code because everybody in the formation starts to smile as they know whats coming "Ah, well, SGM, he's not here right now, he's running a bit late." "Oh, so he'll be here in a few minutes?" "Ah, ah...."
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Pete is offline
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06-26-2008, 10:00
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#14
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,805
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Not saying that it is right.
I had the same thing happen at a course I was attending.
The CoC was covering for him for four days, reporting him as PFD. They finally found him dead in his BOQ room. All of the leaders who had been covering were burned.
Had a brain damaged medic on my team missing for three days. Turns out that he had decided to move, and not let anyone know what he was doing, where he went, or what his new phone number was. We had covered for him till we found him. Then he paid the price.
Just saying that people missing formation, especially in a Repple Depple, would not be unusual. There was probably more than one missing. Bet there won't be again for quite a while though.
Really no excuse, with cell phones these days. I might give you an hour of slack, if I knew you. If you had not checked in by then (even a voicemail saying that you are running late and will be there by X hours), I am going to have to report it.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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06-26-2008, 11:30
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#15
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Guerrilla
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Baghdad Iraq & Springfield Mo
Posts: 239
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RIP Soldier
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504PIR is offline
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