 | ||
| Army Capt. Benjamin Sklaver |
High numbers of U.S. Civil Affairs soldiers, sent into Afghanistan and Iraq to win the hearts and minds of locals by helping restore electricity, build water systems and spread good will, were met with a deadly fate due to lack of protective combat gear and training, according to the findings of an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.
photo right: Army Captain Benjamin Sklaver was killed in Afghanistan when his Civil Affairs Unit was ambushed by a suicide bomber.
Though the Civil Affairs soldiers tasked with nation building make up only about five percent of the U.S. Army's reserve forces, they accounted for 23 percent of the combat fatalities among reservists in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Center for Public Integrity stated in releasing its report today.
