Soldier's wife learns of death through Facebook

Brig. Gen. Darsie Rogers presents Ariell Taylor-Brown with a flag following a memorial service for her husband Army Staff Sgt. Christopher L. Brown at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, April 14, 2012. / AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch

(AP) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The military is investigating after the wife of a Fort Carson said she learned of her husband's death in Afghanistan from a posting on Facebook asking her to call about an emergency.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Brown of Columbus, Ohio, was killed April 3 by an insurgent bomb. His wife, Ariell Taylor-Brown, who lives in Mobile, Ala., says a woman heard about the death from another soldier in her husband's platoon and she was notified on Facebook to call immediately.

"I was told via Facebook," Taylor-Brown told WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio. "It was a girl in his platoon. She wrote to me and told me to call her immediately," Taylor-Brown said.

Most soldiers are warned not to release information on a soldier's death until next of kin are notified. Soldiers who break the rules can be court-martialed.

Taylor-Brown, who has two children and is 11 weeks pregnant with the couple's third child, was at home alone with the kids. She said was devastated and angry that she wasn't informed by the military first.

"She told me over the phone, right in front of my kids and I completely had a meltdown. She wasn't supposed to but I guess she took it on her own power to do it," she said.

Taylor-Brown says hours later, two soldiers arrived at her home in Mobile, Ala., but she knew about it already.

Master Sgt. Craig Zentkovich at Fort Carson told KKTV-TV he could not confirm if the soldiers who deployed with Brown were told how to handle sharing information about a soldier's death.

Brown was in Afghanistan for his fourth tour just one week before he was killed.

Taylor-Brown said she used social media to keep in touch with her husband.

"We were on Skype literally hours before this happened," she said.

Capt. Shayne Heap, the battalion's rear-detachment commander, said Brown served twice in Iraq and was on his second deployment in Afghanistan. He had earned a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and an Army Commendation Medal.

[K. Daraa]

Our politicians have established war as a normal instrument of political will, used continuously to achieve political objectives. Young Americans, mostly young men, faced with chronic unemployment, especially in America's heartland, enlist in military service hoping for a better future. Most mistakenly believe that members of the US government's administrative and legislative branches have their best interests at heart. The truth of the matter is that they are used as cannon fodder with barely more regard for their welfare, by US politicians, than ignorant young men all over the world used by takfiri Al Qaeda to become suicide bombers. Staff SGT Brown did four tours in war zones in southwest Asia. All Americans understand why we initially attacked taliban in Afghanistan in Fall of 2001. It was punishment for taliban providing aid and comfort to our takfiri Al Qaeda enemy who attacked and killed thousands in New York days before. What most Americans don't understand are the self-serving motives behind morphing this 'punishment' objective into a 'nation building' mission costing hundreds of billions of our national treasury and thousands of lost lives? Follow the money and power trail. Who stood to gain from this? Christopher Brown had a job, could afford three kids with his wife, but he spent most of those years away from his family, and he really didn't enjoy most of the benefits of the meager prosperity afforded him by the sacrifice of his life. Arguably, it can't even be claimed that he gave his life directly protecting his country, although destroying Al Qaeda in Afghanistan might be superior to finding and destroying them in North America, based on the assumption that Al Qaeda could penetrate our border security in any significant numbers. My point is 'WHAT national priority are we Americans paying for with our childrens' lives and our national treasures in Afghanistan AND WHY'. I honor Christopher Brown by asking this question. His widow, his mother, his father, and his children, including his as yet unborn child, deserve an honest answer from those our society has chosen to represent us in government.

[[e-mail]]

Famous military-politico type scholars almost unanimously agree that a "CLEAR OBJECTIVE" is KEY to use of force in international activities. AND THEN you must be willing to do what is necessary to ACHIEVE that objective. Fail either one and you usually fail to achieve what it is you set out to do. I guess we haven't learned from Viet Nam. Long story short: 1) We are NOT going to turn Afghanistan into a bastion for democracy by imposing it on its citizenry. It is something that MUST arise from "within." 2) I believe that we can "disrupt" the terrorist activities without trying to basically change the culture. Time ...or really way past time to get the F out. These politician's who advocate the outcome become trapped by their own political egos. Having performed "death" notifications it is something you don't forget...telling some poor family that their loved one has died. I don't think that there is a "good" way to find out someone died. Our military professionals do it as well as can be done. Unfortunately, they have had a lot of practice....

[Red_Dragon_Hawk]

you have to stand by the old "no news is good news".....there have also been a few premature "death notices"....there are a lot of loved ones who wish for "snail mail"...i am former army (10 yrs) and one thing i learned is that a "grapevine" may be fast growing...but produces the sourest fruit

[lumbeeprincess98]

The female soldier did not use the best judgment in informing the wife, but technically she was not informed of her husbands death through facebook. She received a message to contact someone. My heart goes out to this family. At least she did not learn about the death by clicking on facebook and seeing RIP Staff Sgt. Brown. Sadly I have known families of civilians who have discovered that close family members died this way. People do not think about how the news is going to affect others, no matter how you receive the news it is difficult. My mother was home alone when she received a phone call from a non-police official telling them my teenage sister was dead in a town over 4 hours from where she lived. I can't help but wonder if there is more to this story. Why would the soldier take the risks associated with releasing this info? Was she a close friend of Staff SGT Brown? Did he ask her to be the one to tell his wife if something happened? Before we attack the female soldier it would be nice to know more about the situation.

[mari1963]

Facebook is just evil. Shut it down and get rid of it forever. The world would be a much less complicated and peaceful place.

Condolences to this young woman.

[Tankbrat]

Soldiers do not have the luxury of compulsion. The "schmuck" you speak of stateside, take this difficult duty very seriously. This is conduct unbecoming in every sense of the ideal.

[sdemaggie]

Why is this immoral? Is there a good way to learn of a loved ones passing? Why is this news?

[UForgotPoland]

Obama and the Joint Chiefs are just milking this conflict for the money. The neocons of coarse want us to stay in this conflict forever and lose more lives and treasury just for the sake of our "honor" of coarse they won't ever volunteer any of their kids.

[Pdog89gt]

How the heck to do you place the POTUS and Joint Chiefs into this story. Did you read the same story I did. This is about improper death notification.

[themooniac]

Maybe GI X was sent out on a FUBAR mission and other GI's took the risk to get the info out before the Army came up with a new story. Just look at the multiple versions of the Pat Tillman firefight. Just look at how friendly fire cases are handled both today and in Vietnam. Who knows. I will wait and see. I am ex-GI out of 2ndID from long ago. "Second to None" y'all. It is a head scratcher I will admit.

[Tankbrat]

Raptorsmasher,
Either you are not an American or you have NEVER WORN A UNIFORM. You are out of your mind.

[Tankbrat]

My Condolences to Mrs. Brown, her children and extended family.

This breach of Standard Operating Procedure is nothing short of despicable. EVERYONE in the Military knows this procedure. It is not only part of the Uniform Code of Military Justice; It is sacrosanct. This tradition provides that the family be informed in person with the support of a Chaplin or member of the Clergy.

This soldier who took to Facebook has demonstrated herself to be a security risk. Facebook is not the forum for any field activity. Her next stop.. Ft. Leavenworth.

[rcmdblgr]

Come on...maybe she felt compelled for personal reasons with no malice in mind. You are just feeding the news media fire here, she didn't actually hear from "facebook" but rather a phone call. I would rather hear from someone who was serving with my spouse than some poor schmuck back stateside who has absolutely no connection with my family.

[Pdog89gt]

There is no standing policy or code preventing soldiers from spreading word that a fellow soldier has fallen. Bad taste, I agree but not a criminal offense. And a Chaplain is not always required to be present. I've done three notifications and the "ONLY" binding requirements is the notifier has to be a commissioned officer or a Non-commissioned officer in the grade of E-7 or above. Attempts must be made to secure a chaplain but not required.