WASHINGTON — Military inspectors are racing to examine 90,000 U.S.-run facilities in Iraq with the goal of repairing electrical problems before more service members are electrocuted or shocked while showering or using appliances.
About a third of the inspections so far have turned up major electrical problems, according to interviews and a military document obtained by The Associated Press. Half the problems have been fixed, but about 65,000 facilities still must be inspected, which could take the rest of this year. Senior Pentagon officials were on Capitol Hill this week for briefings on the findings.
The work assigned to Task Force SAFE, which oversees the inspections and repairs, is aimed at preventing deaths like that of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, of Pittsburgh. He died last year, one of at least three soldiers killed while showering since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
