An Unofficial Site
Of United States Military
Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
Not Associated With The U.S. Military Or Government
An Unofficial Site
Of
United States Military
Sexual Offender
Conviction Records
Not Associated With The U.S. Military Or Government
Priest continues to challenge the Army’s 800 pages of investigative documents with a simple question. How could her petite daughter, 5-foot-tall daughter with a short arm length, have held the M-16 at the angle which would have resulted in the gunshot?
The Army attempted several attempts explanations, but each was debunked by Mrs. Priest and by the 800 pages of materials provided by the Army itself.
The Army now says Tina used her toe to pull the trigger of the weapon that killed her. The Army never investigated Tina’s death as a homicide, but only as a suicide.
Rape charges against the soldier whose sperm was found on her sleeping bag were dropped a few weeks after her death. He was convicted of failure to obey an order and sentenced to forfeiture of $714 for 2 months, 30 days restriction to the base and 45 days of extra duty.
Priest joined the Army after earning certification as a medical assistant and facing a tight local job market, her father said.
In the Army, she dealt with logistics, getting things where they need to be, and handled a machine gun mounted on a Humvee while deployed. A week after she arrived in Iraq, she was injured by shrapnel but returned to duty quickly.
"She was the last one I expected to join the armed services," Tim Priest said. "But she really believed in what she was doing."
In his room, Tim Priest has her military honors displayed: the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, a Military Merit Medal. Priest said he's been told two Purple Hearts are awaiting the approval of the secretary of defense.
Tina Priest
Army Private First Class Tina Priest, 20, of Smithville, Texas, who was raped by a fellow soldier in February, 2006 on a military base known as Camp Taji in Iraq.
Priest was a part of the 5th Support Battalion, lst Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
The Army said Tina was found dead in her room on March 1, 2006, of a self-inflicted M-16 shot, a “suicide”, 11 days after the rape.
Private Priest’s mother, Joy Priest, disputes the Army’s findings. Mrs. Priest said she talked several times with her daughter after the rape, and while very upset about the rape, she was not suicidal.
Tina Priest
Private U.S. Army
Raped And Murdred In Iraq
