Afghanistan Foundation Issues Statement, Urges Transparency

Afghanistan Foundation Issues Statement, Urges Transparency, Full Investigation, in U.S. Defense Contractor’s Death

For Immediate Release: February 20, 2013

Washington, D.C., and Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghanistan Foundation

The Afghanistan Foundation issued a statement today regarding the death on Sunday of a civilian U.S. defense contractor, Ms. Christina Maddock, who served in Herat, Afghanistan, calling for her to be honored and for a full investigation and disclosure regarding her death.

“It is with sadness that we have learned of the death of Christina Maddock who died tragically in service to the United States and the freedom-loving people of Afghanistan,“ said Philip Smith, President and Executive Director of the Afghanistan Foundation in Washington, D.C. “We are deeply concerned that on Tuesday, after major news media inquiries, it was finally claimed in an enigmatic and mysterious fashion by a NATO ISAF spokesperson that Ms. Maddock, reportedly died of wounds in a non-combat related firearms incident.”

“Christina’s life was highlighted and characterized by important and honorable service to the United States, both in the U.S. Air Force and as a civilian defense contractor, working on behalf of U.S. national security interests and in support of the hope and vision of a new Afghanistan,” Smith stated. “Her premature death, in the flower of her youth, symbolizes the painful sacrifices of so many of America’s best and brightest; She, like many idealistic Americans, joined the efforts of the U.S. military and the international community, in the post-September 11, 2001 era, to struggle to free the suffering people of Afghanistan and to seek to make the world a better and safer place.”

Christina Maddock, 27, was reportedly serving as a civilian defense contractor for Intelligent Software Solutions, when she was critically wounded in the Herat-area of Afghanistan. A Fairborn, Ohio, native, she died on Sunday in a U.S. Army hospital in Germany, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

“Sadly, at least 2045 U.S. military personnel have died in support of the war in Afghanistan to date, however, the deaths of courageous U.S. contract employees in Afghanistan, such as Christina Maddock, has been largely ignored or forgotten,” Smith observed. “Many of these Americans died as heroes, worthy of the highest medals for their extraordinary courage and valor, but will never be fully recognized for their sacrifices because U.S. companies are still not required to report on the details, or share information, regarding their deaths in Afghanistan.”

Smith continued: “It is little understood that U.S. contractor deaths in Afghanistan continue at a very high level, in some calendar years, to significantly outpace those of the U.S. military; For example, in 2011, some 430 American contract employees were killed in Afghanistan, outpacing the 418 Americans soldiers killed in that same year. Enemy forces in Afghanistan continue to target and kill American contract employees and non-governmental aid workers at an alarming rate.”

Smith stated further: “We know that Herat is an area of great risk and a dangerous zone of conflict, close to the Iranian border, so it is likely that Christina Maddock, encountered in the field, on more than one occasion during her short tenure, hostile forces who often blend into the civilian population because they wear no uniforms; We may never know the degree of Ms. Maddock’s sacrifices and heroism, and those of other U.S. contractor employees, who have died in Afghanistan, in shrouded silence, too often maintained unnecessarily by the companies and Government that deployed them to this combat zone.”

Smith concluded on behalf of the Afghanistan Foundation: “The Afghanistan Foundation expresses its sincere and deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues, of Christina Maddock and urges a transparent investigation, and full disclosure, regarding the circumstances of her tragic death; Clearly, she and others who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan deserve more recognition, honor and fairness, from the United States, the government of Afghanistan, and the companies they have worked for.”

The Afghanistan Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental, research organization (NGO) focused on public policy issues in Afghanistan and the region. http://www.afghanistan-foundation.org It was co-founded by Mr. Philip Smith, and others, prior to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, on the idea of helping to educate policymakers and the general public about the nation of Afghanistan, its people, culture and history.

ENDS

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