Ohio National Guard mourns its 1st death in Iraqi operation

The death of a Pa. National Guardsman has resulted in five reprimands.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
Ohio Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Aaron T. Reese, 31, of Reynoldsville, died while on river patrol on the Tigris River in Iraq on Wednesday, making him the first ONG soldier to die while serving as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Another Ohio guardsman who dived into the river to try to save Reese, Specialist Todd M. Bates, 20, of Bellaire, did not resurface and is missing, according to the ONG Public Affairs Office in Columbus.
Both men are members of the 135th Military Police Co. out of Brookpark. The incident is under investigation, according to Maj. Neal O'Brien of the ONG.
"We are terribly saddened by the death of Staff Sgt. Reese, and extend our deepest sympathies to his family," said Maj. Gen. John H. Smith, adjutant general of Ohio.
"The selfless sacrifice of Specialist Bates is incredible, and we hope that his status is ascertained as soon as possible. We extend our hope and prayers to his family," Smith said.
Five disciplined
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania National Guard disciplined five soldiers as a result of its investigation into the accidental fatal shooting of a sergeant during training in August, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver said.
All five received letters of reprimand, Cleaver said.
In addition, two received a nonjudicial "Article 15" punishment that may hamper their advancement in the service, one soldier was relieved of command and one was reassigned, Cleaver said.
Citing military privacy rules, he declined to disclose their identities. All five belonged to the 800-soldier 876th Engineer Battalion, based in Johnstown.
Sgt. Rudolph B. Flaim, 25, of Jerome, was moving equipment from one Fort Indiantown Gap firing range to another for a night-firing exercise Aug. 4 when he was shot in the hand and chest by a single round from an M2 .50-caliber machine gun.
While loading the machine gun into the back of a Humvee, he activated a trigger and discharged the fatal round.
Flaim, a part-time guardsman, was taken by helicopter to Hershey Medical Center, where he died.
'Numerous failures'
The Guard's internal investigation concluded that the last soldier to fire the weapon, who is customarily responsible for clearing it of any ammunition, failed to take that precaution.
There were "numerous failures throughout numerous levels of the chain of command" that led to Flaim's death, including the fact that a number of high-ranking officers were not present for that portion of their two-week annual training regimen, Cleaver said.
"They were taking on too much with a limited staff," he said.
Flaim's death has resulted in a number of new procedures' being instituted at Fort Indiantown Gap, Cleaver said.
Cleaver called Flaim "a well-liked, gung-ho soldier" who had been considering returning to school. Single, Flaim had been with the National Guard since 1996 and lived with his parents in Somerset County.