Not too sure...

I've been wrestling with this for a couple of days. I don't want this to be a gossip column, but it is how I/we share what is happening in our lives with our families and friends, so this morning, I decided to share a bit of bad news.
Here is the article in Stars and Stripes:

Soldier found dead in Mannheim barracks
Stars and StripesEuropean edition, Thursday, April 12, 2007
A soldier with the 72nd Signal Battalion, 7th Signal Brigade died in his barracks room Tuesday night in Mannheim, Germany, an Army spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Officials didn’t release the name of the soldier, but said the soldier was found unconscious around midnight and later pronounced dead by the responding authorities.
Both German and U.S. authorities are investigating the cause of death, said 5th Signal Command spokeswoman LeAnne MacAllister.
The Mannheim-based 72nd Signal Battalion returned earlier this year from a yearlong deployment to the Middle East, but MacAllister could not confirm if the soldier was one of about 300 people deployed with the unit to fight in war on terrorism.
More information would be released after the family was notified, she said.

I didn't know this soldier. He was a single soldier with no family here in Germany. But he had friends, fellow soldiers, and brothers in arms. There has been a somber feel in the battalion for the past couple of days, but the mission continues. I was a little offended/weirded out/confused by the attitude at first. It was more of a "the Army continues, the battalion will get past this" type mentality and I didn't like it. What about his family? What about his friends? He had a girlfriend, they broke up a couple of weeks ago. What must she be going through? There will be a memorial service sometime next week. And I am starting to understand a bit. These men and women don't get bogged down in what has past. There were some tears, I saw some people struggling with this tragedy. But they are trained, professional soldiers, and they move on with their duties, knowing that they cannot change the past, they can only go forward from here.

I was very impressed with the Chaplain. When the soldiers were gathered in formation to be briefed on what happend (what has been verified, not what has been speculated) to be told to keep it quiet, and don't add fuel to the rumor wildfire, the Chaplain spent a few minutes giving them some spiritual guidance. He also asked them to honor their friend and fellow soldier by listening to their commander, not whispering about it at the DFAC, not answering people's questions with speculations. He said that those in the company he was from (they were not at this formation, they were separate) needed to see some support right now. He said, "don't avoid them because you don't have the words. No one does. Just give a hug, a kind word, an are you doing ok? Let them see that you know they are grieving and maybe you are too, but we are in this together."

Please pray for this soldier's family in California, and his friends here.