First female Iowan killed in Iraq (#2488)

First female Iowan killed in Iraq
By JARED STRONG

An Iowa Falls sailor is the first female Iowan to die in the war in Iraq.

Seabee Reservist Jaime Jaenke, 29, was killed in a roadside bomb attack Monday. She is the forty-second Iowan to die in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003.

Jaenke, 29, a Petty Officer 2nd Class, and an Illinois sailor were killed when the bomb exploded near their Humvee in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. J.G. Kirby said.

Also killed was Petty Officer 1st Class Gary Rovinski.

They were assigned to the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25 at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060608/NEWS11/60608004/1001/NEWS08



This undated photo released by the U.S. Navy on June 8, 2006, shows Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jamie S. Jaenke who was killed in Iraq on Monday, June 5, 2006. Jaenke, 29, of Bay City, Wis., a native of Iowa Falls, Iowa, was killed when her Humvee was hit by the roadside bomb in the Al Anbar province, according to the Department of Defense. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

That's not their mission.

Peace to Jaime and her family...

*sigh*

I'm so damned tired of these deaths...

It is indeed their mission to provide engineering support for the Marines in combat zones.

What the hell is a sailor doing riding around in Iraq in a Humvee? We are abusing our military forces and this is what happens when you throw folks into a war zone who aren't trained for combat.

RIP, Jaime. I wish we could have brought you home safe and sound to your family. And may George Bush rot in hell.

HELL NO! My Grandfather was a lighthouse keeper, Coastie, and Navy (20 years, including WWII, KOrea, and Vietnam). THis is outrageous on so many levels....

She was a Navy Seabee (Construction Battalion). These sailors have always accompanied Marines on shore for the purpose of constructing necessary structures, from airfields to bridges to bunkers. While they are designed to be non-offensive, there's nothing indicating that these particular sailors were involved in an offensive action at the time of their deaths. You can fault the administration for her being there at all (I certainly do), but this is a standard use of this kind of naval personnel.

this is so senseless. :cry:

...

Sadly that number will pass soon and that is with or without Zarqawi. It's still hard to comprehend that this flow of death will continue until at least the beginning of 2009 and there is nothing we can do except count and watch.

I'm so proud of my home state, now. More grist for Bush's insatible mill of violence.