Texas National Guard solider who drowned in Rio Grande lacked inexpensive flotation device
When Texas National Guard Spc. Bishop Evans jumped in the Rio Grande last week to help two people he believed to be drowning in the swift current, he wasn't wearing a flotation device, the Texas Military Department tells Military Times and The Texas Tribune. Bishop's body was recovered from the river on Monday.
Bishop was among the more than 10,000 National Guard troops sent to the Rio Grande Valley as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) $2 billion-a-year Operation Lone Star border initiative, but "like many other troops on the mission, he wasn't outfitted with the potentially lifesaving equipment," Military Times and the Tribune reported Wednesday. The Texas Military Department ordered ropes and hundreds of ring buoys for water rescues in February, 11 months after Abbott's operation began, "but the equipment had not yet arrived to most Guard members at the time Evans died."
"The delays are new evidence of TMD's staggering failure to ensure its troops have the equipment they need," even inexpensive items like ropes and floatation devices, Military Times and the Tribune report. "But the absence of water equipment is the first time that lack of supplies may have contributed to a soldier's death."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The U.S. Border Patrol, which is provided floatation devices and ropes, told The Washington Post it rescued a dozen people in the same stretch of the Rio Grande last week, but agents also found 11 bodies on the U.S. side of the river and 12 on the Mexican side this month.
The Texas Military Department blamed the lack of floatation devices on "delays from the vendor and global supply chain issues," but two Guard logistics specialists told the Tribune and Military Times that department officials "sat on a request for flotation devices for three weeks before it was approved."
Six National Guard troops told Military Times and the Tribune that despite the lack of equipment and advice to avoid entering the river, members of Operation Lone Star have been performing 15 to 20 water rescues a month. Read more about Operation Lone Star and its fuzzy details at The Texas Tribune and Military Times.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published