Hoffmaster

Roselle M. Hoffmaster, 32, Cleveland, Ohio; died in Kirkuk, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident; assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. September 19

September 2007 2007

Roselle M. Hoffmaster, 32, of Cleveland, Ohio, died Sept. 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

Gulf War II 2007

The report includes a statement from one officer who believes the Army did Hoffmaster a disservice by failing to properly prepare her for duty in Iraq.

Greg Mitchell: Tragic Report: U.S. Doctor in Iraq Driven to Suicide 2009

Hoffmaster was found dead on her cot by one of her roommates, whose M9 Beretta pistol was still in her hand.

Greg Mitchell: Tragic Report: U.S. Doctor in Iraq Driven to Suicide 2009

Just hours before she killed herself, Hoffmaster, a surgeon commissioned into the Army Medical Corps in 2004, had been berated by a senior officer, the report shows.

Greg Mitchell: Tragic Report: U.S. Doctor in Iraq Driven to Suicide 2009

One officer told investigators that Hoffmaster was "swamped from the day she arrived at the unit" and "had about four of five months of catching up to do with a new Army program that she was completely unfamiliar with."

Greg Mitchell: Tragic Report: U.S. Doctor in Iraq Driven to Suicide 2009

Despite her distress that day, Hoffmaster was by all accounts a strong, positive, focused person who worked hard to achieve her goals and put the needs of others before her own.

Greg Mitchell: Tragic Report: U.S. Doctor in Iraq Driven to Suicide 2009

Hoffmaster was young (age 32), a 2000 graduate of Smith College, a surgeon commissioned into the Medical Corps in 2004.

Greg Mitchell: Tragic Report: U.S. Doctor in Iraq Driven to Suicide 2009

Because Hoffmaster was a last-minute replacement for another surgeon who left the unit, she was not able to attend a readiness training center in Louisiana, the officer said, or to get acclimated to her new unit.

Greg Mitchell: Tragic Report: U.S. Doctor in Iraq Driven to Suicide 2009

The officer told investigators he felt the Army did Hoffmaster a disservice and called the situation "a 'perfect storm' to create tension and anxiety."

Greg Mitchell: Tragic Report: U.S. Doctor in Iraq Driven to Suicide 2009