PV2 Caleb Smither
My name is Heather Baker, mother of Caleb Smither, who was my beautiful 19-year-old ambitious paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg. He was a picture-perfect soldier of pristine health, youth, and vitality.
Caleb’s life-long desire was realized when he enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 28, 2019, and following graduation he entered basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. There, PV2 Smither completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training where he graduated 91L Construction Equipment Repair School. While attending this course he was
awarded the Leadership and Iron Soldier Awards. PV2 Smither was then prestigiously awarded his “jump wings” after attending Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. His military goals included Hotel 8, Zapper, Ranger, and Air Assault.
He wrote of his desires to become a better mechanic and soldier. Caleb was a true patriot, and he was enthusiastic about serving his country to the fullest. His personality radiated human kindness, compassion, selflessness, and the epitome of love. He lived his life fully by the Latin creed “Amat Victoria Curam”, victory loves preparation, and he was wholeheartedly prepared to valiantly defend his country, however, he was never prepared to die alone in his barracks in the
same country he swore to defend.
On January 22nd, 2020, I was notified that my son was found deceased in his barracks at Fort Bragg. At this time Caleb was only in the army for less than eight months and had been at Fort Bragg for 7 weeks and 4 days before his life was taken as a result of the negligent care he received from Army Personnel and his Command following a severe head injury he sustained while working as a 91 Lima track line mechanic on or around January 13, 2020. After he reported having hit his head on or around January 13, 2020, he proceeded to take 3 trips to the emergency room at Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC), presenting with symptoms of a severe concussion or worse, and he was simply sent home with medication for pain and nausea that you would administer to a cancer patient. (In the CID investigation there was testimony from both Caleb’s Captain and his First Sgt, who testified that he was “turned away” from the WAMC the first time he sought medical treatment after hitting his head.
It wasn’t until after he showed up late to morning formation the next day wearing night vision goggles so that he could make the sunlight bearable and report to duty despite throwing up and being in severe pain, that he was finally escorted to the WAMC by his Command. CT scans taken during one of his ER visits showed evidence that further treatment was needed but he was apparently disregarded by the medical staff at WAMC without any further testing or treatment
for his symptoms.
After showing a complete a disregard of his symptoms and history of his head injury in relation
to his symptoms, on January 15th, 2020, my son was sent home to die a miserable death alone, while surrounded by thousands of his brothers and sisters on his base. Over six days later Caleb would be discovered in his room. His body was decomposed to the point that when Caleb was discovered he was in the 5th stage of decomposition, his body was putrefied, his hands were
mummified, and his flesh was falling off his body. Rather than check on him, his roommate proceeded to spray Febreeze to cover up the smell of his rotting flesh.
We were not able to see him one last time or have an open casket for Caleb because I was notified a week after his death that he was not viewable due to the decomposition of his body, so instead he was sent home to his community in a body bag.
Despite an “investigation” being conducted by both the Army Command and Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), I am still left needing answers. Why didn’t anyone check on him for 6.5 days? Where was his chain of command? What ever happened to following accident or injury protocol? Where was his roommate? Where was the soldier that was ordered to check on Caleb and then later lied about doing so in the CID investigation? Why would the Army leave a
man behind on their own base to die surrounded by his fellow soldiers?
During the Command’s final review, they stated that“ there was no standard protocol in place to check on an injured soldier” on base. However, I question how this is even possible when the Army states in its Soldier's Creed that they will never leave a fallen comrade which is reiterated again in the NCO creed—"Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will
always be uppermost in my mind—accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.” The same notions are uttered in the Paratroopers creed, such as “I will never fail my fellow comrades by shrinking any duty or training and fighting as a team.” Caleb devoted his life and live by these creeds but these same creeds ultimately failed him. If these creeds had truly been put into action, Caleb would still be alive and performing his duty to our nation.
Instead, over 3 years have passed since his untimely death and I have still not received answers to justify what happened to my son. Basic facts that anyone would expect to have in a case like this have been being withheld and it is clear that the Army failed to conduct a thorough unbiased investigation into Caleb’s death and the circumstances leading up to his death.
I am respectfully requesting your support to review Caleb Smither’s case and to request that the Army reopen the investigation into this death as the investigations that were done were not thorough or complete. I am also requesting Congressional oversight into what actions were taken by the Army to investigate my son’s death as we believe that a Congressional Investigation
may be warranted to evaluate the many failures of Army to ensure the care of its soldiers like Caleb.
Additionally, we are still unaware of the status of any Quality Assurance Investigation (QAI) that the Army was allegedly conducting into the medical care Caleb received at Womack. However, after 3 years, we still do not know when the Army began the QAI, and we do not know and cannot understand how this type of investigation can take over three years to complete given the brief
timeline of medical care that Caleb received leading up to his death. Therefore we are also requesting your help to get clarification on what QAI process was
followed by the Army, if any, in Caleb’s case and that you urge the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Army to review how the Army is conducting its quality assurance processes as it appears that the Army is failing its soldiers like PV2 Caleb Smither.
While this focus is on one individual’s case, we believe Caleb’s case is symbolic of a broader trend of the DHA’s failure to complete timely investigations. These investigations are vital—Congress uses them to conduct oversight, and the DHA uses them to hold practitioners accountable for errors in judgment and performance.
Please help PV2 Caleb Smither's Case to bee seen by signing this petition.
Thank you,
Heather Baker
Mother and Independent Administrator
to PV2 Caleb Smither
Team Smitty
Caleb’s life-long desire was realized when he enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 28, 2019, and following graduation he entered basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. There, PV2 Smither completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training where he graduated 91L Construction Equipment Repair School. While attending this course he was
awarded the Leadership and Iron Soldier Awards. PV2 Smither was then prestigiously awarded his “jump wings” after attending Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. His military goals included Hotel 8, Zapper, Ranger, and Air Assault.
He wrote of his desires to become a better mechanic and soldier. Caleb was a true patriot, and he was enthusiastic about serving his country to the fullest. His personality radiated human kindness, compassion, selflessness, and the epitome of love. He lived his life fully by the Latin creed “Amat Victoria Curam”, victory loves preparation, and he was wholeheartedly prepared to valiantly defend his country, however, he was never prepared to die alone in his barracks in the
same country he swore to defend.
On January 22nd, 2020, I was notified that my son was found deceased in his barracks at Fort Bragg. At this time Caleb was only in the army for less than eight months and had been at Fort Bragg for 7 weeks and 4 days before his life was taken as a result of the negligent care he received from Army Personnel and his Command following a severe head injury he sustained while working as a 91 Lima track line mechanic on or around January 13, 2020. After he reported having hit his head on or around January 13, 2020, he proceeded to take 3 trips to the emergency room at Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC), presenting with symptoms of a severe concussion or worse, and he was simply sent home with medication for pain and nausea that you would administer to a cancer patient. (In the CID investigation there was testimony from both Caleb’s Captain and his First Sgt, who testified that he was “turned away” from the WAMC the first time he sought medical treatment after hitting his head.
It wasn’t until after he showed up late to morning formation the next day wearing night vision goggles so that he could make the sunlight bearable and report to duty despite throwing up and being in severe pain, that he was finally escorted to the WAMC by his Command. CT scans taken during one of his ER visits showed evidence that further treatment was needed but he was apparently disregarded by the medical staff at WAMC without any further testing or treatment
for his symptoms.
After showing a complete a disregard of his symptoms and history of his head injury in relation
to his symptoms, on January 15th, 2020, my son was sent home to die a miserable death alone, while surrounded by thousands of his brothers and sisters on his base. Over six days later Caleb would be discovered in his room. His body was decomposed to the point that when Caleb was discovered he was in the 5th stage of decomposition, his body was putrefied, his hands were
mummified, and his flesh was falling off his body. Rather than check on him, his roommate proceeded to spray Febreeze to cover up the smell of his rotting flesh.
We were not able to see him one last time or have an open casket for Caleb because I was notified a week after his death that he was not viewable due to the decomposition of his body, so instead he was sent home to his community in a body bag.
Despite an “investigation” being conducted by both the Army Command and Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), I am still left needing answers. Why didn’t anyone check on him for 6.5 days? Where was his chain of command? What ever happened to following accident or injury protocol? Where was his roommate? Where was the soldier that was ordered to check on Caleb and then later lied about doing so in the CID investigation? Why would the Army leave a
man behind on their own base to die surrounded by his fellow soldiers?
During the Command’s final review, they stated that“ there was no standard protocol in place to check on an injured soldier” on base. However, I question how this is even possible when the Army states in its Soldier's Creed that they will never leave a fallen comrade which is reiterated again in the NCO creed—"Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will
always be uppermost in my mind—accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.” The same notions are uttered in the Paratroopers creed, such as “I will never fail my fellow comrades by shrinking any duty or training and fighting as a team.” Caleb devoted his life and live by these creeds but these same creeds ultimately failed him. If these creeds had truly been put into action, Caleb would still be alive and performing his duty to our nation.
Instead, over 3 years have passed since his untimely death and I have still not received answers to justify what happened to my son. Basic facts that anyone would expect to have in a case like this have been being withheld and it is clear that the Army failed to conduct a thorough unbiased investigation into Caleb’s death and the circumstances leading up to his death.
I am respectfully requesting your support to review Caleb Smither’s case and to request that the Army reopen the investigation into this death as the investigations that were done were not thorough or complete. I am also requesting Congressional oversight into what actions were taken by the Army to investigate my son’s death as we believe that a Congressional Investigation
may be warranted to evaluate the many failures of Army to ensure the care of its soldiers like Caleb.
Additionally, we are still unaware of the status of any Quality Assurance Investigation (QAI) that the Army was allegedly conducting into the medical care Caleb received at Womack. However, after 3 years, we still do not know when the Army began the QAI, and we do not know and cannot understand how this type of investigation can take over three years to complete given the brief
timeline of medical care that Caleb received leading up to his death. Therefore we are also requesting your help to get clarification on what QAI process was
followed by the Army, if any, in Caleb’s case and that you urge the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Army to review how the Army is conducting its quality assurance processes as it appears that the Army is failing its soldiers like PV2 Caleb Smither.
While this focus is on one individual’s case, we believe Caleb’s case is symbolic of a broader trend of the DHA’s failure to complete timely investigations. These investigations are vital—Congress uses them to conduct oversight, and the DHA uses them to hold practitioners accountable for errors in judgment and performance.
Please help PV2 Caleb Smither's Case to bee seen by signing this petition.
Thank you,
Heather Baker
Mother and Independent Administrator
to PV2 Caleb Smither
Team Smitty
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