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June 26, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels April 28, 2004 Roadside explosion killed Oregon contractor in Iraq PORTLAND (AP) - A private security guard from Portland died when the truck he was riding in was blown up by a roadside bomb in Iraq, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday. Thomas Carter, 49, was in the lead truck in a weekend convoy of private security contractors. The security guards were escorting other contractors, a group of demolitions experts from Florida hired by the Corps to destroy old Iraqi munitions. Carter, the father of a 10-year-old son, went to Iraq in December and planned to return in time for an Army reserve exercise in June. He had served in the U.S. Army for nearly 18 years, receiving extensive training in security, particularly as part of the Delta Force. The elite unit is part of the Army's Special Forces. After his retirement, Carter reportedly worked for private companies providing security for U.S. diplomats around the world. In Iraq, Carter worked for Cochise Consultancy Inc. of Valrico, Fla. Cochise Consultancy was subcontracted by another Florida firm, USA Environmental of Tampa, a demolitions company. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Huntsville, Ala. managed the contract, according to spokeswoman Betsy Weiner, yet has only 12 employees stationed in Iraq out of 2,200 people working in that country to destroy the old weaponry. The rest are private contractors, she said. The primary engineering firms hired to handle the explosives are expected to hire their own private security, she said, such as in the arrangement with Cochise and USA Environmental. Carter was en route to one of six sites the contractors use to store munitions, riding in a lead truck escorting the convoy, Weiner said. Carter and Vincent Foster, 31, from Port Orchard, Wash., died, she said. A third man in the truck, 33-year-old Michael Price of Concord, Calif., was critically injured, she said, and a fourth occupant was not hurt. Weiner said the incident is still under investigation. Carter was the second private contractor from Oregon to die in Iraq. Roy Buckmaster of Lake Oswego died on Nov. 2. Roughly 20,000 private security contractors from dozens of companies operate in Iraq under contract with the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led governing body in Iraq, plus the Defense Department and other U.S. agencies. Several dozen have reportedly been killed. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams