kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and KilleenSoldiers Told To Stop Deadly Game

Note: This article appears in the January 9, 2012 edition of The Cape Cod Times, SGT Gallagher's hometown.  22 year old Matthew Gallagher was stationed at Fort Hood.

By Sean Teehan

When news of North Falmouth Army Sgt. Matthew Gallagher's death initially made it to Cape Cod, family members believed the 22-year-old soldier was cut down by enemy fire.

Army investigative documents and an Article 32 investigative hearing at Fort Hood last month revealed that Gallagher was killed by his roommate Army Sgt. Brent McBride, 25, during a game of quick-draw, a game that involved drawing pistols on each other to see who could do it faster. The shooting occurred in the trailer-style room the two shared while deployed to Al Kut, Iraq.

At least two soldiers made sworn statements that McBride began playing quick-draw with Gallagher about a week before the alleged accidental shooting. During that time several soldiers and at least one higher-ranking staff sergeant recall warning them against playing the game.

In a sworn statement to an Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) agent dated Aug. 8, a soldier in McBride's platoon said he and other soldiers were well aware of the game.

"On multiple occasions, many lower enlisted members of the platoon had told them to stop or that it was ridiculous," the soldier said in his statement. "I do not know if it was ever reported higher."

The roommates were also ordered to stop playing the game by a staff sergeant when he saw the two draw their pistols at each other at the base's dining facility during a promotion ceremony, according to the staff sergeant's sworn statement.

"I had seen Gallagher and (McBride) playing it one time only, and I corrected both of them on the spot," the staff sergeant said in his statement. The staff sergeant said he made a "verbal, on-the-spot correction to stop."

The staff sergeant was the only noncommissioned officer to take corrective action against Gallagher and McBride for playing quick-draw, according to the informal investigation report. Another soldier, Army Sgt. Jonathan Cox, reported seeing the two playing quick-draw the night before Gallagher's death, according to Stephen Scot Sikes, one of McBride's two defense attorneys.

'Off The Reservation'

Soldiers at COB Delta testified at an Article 32 hearing held last month at Fort Hood that they knew McBride carried a pistol with a bullet in the chamber on at least one occasion, despite strict orders that soldiers clear their weapons of ammunition before stepping foot on base.

In his testimony last month, Army Spc. Zachary Graham said he approached McBride when he noticed his pistol had a bullet in the chamber.

"I tried to correct him," said Graham, who was a private first class at the time. McBride ignored advice from the lower-ranking soldier, Graham added. "(McBride's reaction) was kind of like, 'I'm a sergeant, you're a private, I'll correct myself.'"

Army documents and testimony indicate that superior officers were unaware McBride ever carried a loaded pistol on base.

"The fact that this guy, McBride, was so far off the reservation (complying with orders) ... this really stinks of leadership failure," said Dr. Jonathan Shay, a psychologist and author of "Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming."

Army officials have repeatedly refused requests from the Times for documents and information about McBride.

Fort Hood spokesmen in November told media outlets that McBride, of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, faced charges stemming from Gallagher's death. They later released McBride's age and hometown of Fairhope, Ala. However, a guidance counselor at the South Carolina high school McBride attended said he lived with his older sister in Manning, S.C., during his high school years.

Army officials refused to release McBride's deployment history, when and why he was transferred to Gallagher's platoon or any details of any disciplinary actions taken against him.

Sikes said McBride's deployment with the 1st Cavalry was his first combat deployment and he had no prior history of disciplinary problems.

Family Complaints

Since his death, Gallagher's family members have complained that Army officials have also kept them in the dark.

When Army sergeants first delivered the news of Gallagher's death to his widow, Katie Gallagher, and his mother, Cheryl Ruggiero, both were under the impression he died by enemy fire during a house sweep.

"As Matt's mother, I feel I should have been told the circumstances initially," Ruggiero said.

Military officials did not inform her or Katie Gallagher that Gallagher was killed by a fellow soldier until weeks later.

Family members of Gallagher received a call from U.S. Sen. Scott Brown's office on Veterans Day, after the Times reported his death was ruled a homicide, Ruggiero said. Brown met with them in Hyannis the following day and since then, Ruggiero said, Army officials have made a better effort to keep family members updated.

A spokeswoman for Brown's office did not respond to messages left by the Times last week.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry's office also offered assistance to the family, but Ruggiero said she did not want to tie up both senators.

In an emailed statement to the Times, Kerry said his office would do whatever it could to help Gallagher's family.

"When a loss like this is sudden and unexpected and when the circumstances are so uncertain, it's an even worse shock," Kerry said. "The Gallaghers deserve nothing less than the answers and the facts they're seeking, and I'm hopeful the results of the hearing at Fort Hood will be a step forward."

Fort Hood officials have not yet released whether McBride will face a court martial. McBride remains on active duty at Fort Hood.

"He gets to go about day-to-day living," Ruggiero said. "Where as my son has been six months in the ground, it's not fair."

For more articles on the topic from Mr. Teehan, you can find them online:  capecodonline.com