Army questions aspects of electrocution story - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Army questions aspects of electrocution story

WASHINGTON — The Army on Wednesday challenged an injured military police officer’s account that he received a severe shock while he was showering in Iraq.

Instead, an Army investigation found that Pfc. Justin Shults, 21, was shocked Oct. 18 on metal steps attached to a shower trailer, the Army said in a statement. It said the shock was caused by an “improperly bonded electrical conduit pipe” on the ground.

Shults’ account generated attention because at least two soldiers have been electrocuted while showering in Iraq, and the military has faced criticism for the electrical work done where troops live.

In stories published earlier this week, Shults said he was knocked unconscious when he adjusted a wall heating and air conditioner unit while showering. Shults, who is in outpatient care at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, described severe burns to his limbs and groin.

Two messages left for Shults on Wednesday were not returned.

The Army statement said Shults’ injuries were “tragic.” It says he was shocked when he tripped on the stairs and came in contact with the pipe, which was used to protect the electrical cable inside.

The statement says the pipe and wire were part of existing Iraqi infrastructure, and that the shower trailer was not maintained by military contractor KBR Inc. Shults had said he blamed KBR for what happened, and that he’d talked to some KBR workers as they installed the shower trailer a few months before he was burned.

On Monday, an Army spokesman did not respond to questions about the incident.

After the incident was first reported Monday by the San Antonio Express-News, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., called Shults, who is from Hamburg, Pa., and mentioned the incident Tuesday during a press conference on electrocutions in Iraq.

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