On Monday, an Australian soldier was found dead in 'a barracks area' in East Timour with a bullet wound to the head (this is the only info released about the circumstances), yesterday the defense force released the name of the soldier and it turns out it was a guy I went to school with, ash.
ONLY days before Digger Ashley Baker was found dead in his barracks in East Timor, he was on the internet telling friends of being so busy he had forgotten his birthday.
The 19-year-old private gave no indication of any personal torment in his deployment, apart from complaining to friends of working around the clock and of the heat while on patrol.
Instead, the self-confessed "man of few words", from Tannum Sands in central Queensland, was last week asking former schoolmates on his MySpace website how they had gone in their exams and even ribbed one about a recent fling.
Despite the apparent levity in his internet conversations, sources have told The Australian that it is believed Private Baker - who joined the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment last November - took his own life.
It is understood he died from a single gunshot wound.
The Australian Defence Force has refused to confirm military police were considering suicide as a possibility in the death or that he died as a result of an accidental discharge.
Military police are continuing their investigation into the death of Pte Baker, serving with 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in Timor.
Liked Scientology, heavy metal
On his MySpace website, Pte Baker professed to being a Scientologist and a fan of heavy metal music.
His body will be returned to his home state for burial.
It is understood a standard-issue Steyer assault rifle was found next to the body "in a barracks area" at the main Australian base at Dili heliport.
A memorial service for Pte Baker was conducted in Dili yesterday morning.
The same thing happened 2 weeks ago when a trooper died in Afghanistan, his family wanted their privacy respected and did not speak to the media, they must have been shocked when they saw their private photos of the deceased and his family paraded all of the media, they all came from his Facebook account (even if the account was 'public', facebook own the rights to all photos uploaded and they cannot be reproduced).
Crevis.... sorry to hear about your old classmate. Journalism can be pretty cold, but we open ourselves up to the extra scrutiny when we make our personal lives open to the public on the Internet. That includes here! Again.... sorry about your classmate!
But that's the thing, his profile was set to private, there is no respect for privacy these days. Some ****er in Sydney who has never meat the guy is making character judgments based on crass internet discussions and statements that anyone who knows him (and would have access to his profile) would know he was joking.
But that doesn't matter since the people who knew him are .0000000000000000001 percent of people who will read the article. :roll:
But that's the thing, his profile was set to private, there is no respect for privacy these days. Some ****er in Sydney who has never meat the guy is making character judgments based on crass internet discussions and statements that anyone who knows him (and would have access to his profile) would know he was joking.
But that doesn't matter since the people who knew him are .0000000000000000001 percent of people who will read the article. :roll:
Really sorry about your friend, Crevis.
Some reporters seem to want to phone it in lately, not to mention the typical vulture tactics.
Yes, some of us volunteer a lot of information on the Internet, but who REALLY knows us? The same can be said in the real world. Truth is based on perception. What's important is the perception you had of your friend.
Reporters like this can cram it up their a$$!
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