The death of Specialist Bishop Evans

| April 28, 2022

SPC Bishop Evans

As ninja keeps reminding us, a Texas National Guard soldier tragically gave his life at the Rio Grande this week to save a couple of illegal border crossers. More information has come out now on the death of Specialist Bishop Evans that make it even more tragic.

Necessary safety equipment for conducting water rescues was not available. Who’s running the safety briefings on this shit?

From Army Times;

The river was moving swiftly the morning Spc. Bishop Evans jumped into the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass to save two migrants who appeared to be drowning.

The risk was great. In the past month, at least 23 migrants had drowned in those waters. And rescues by Guard members patrolling the river were a regular occurrence.

The 22-year-old part-time field artilleryman from Arlington, Texas, was found dead Monday — ending a four-day search for his body, which had been washed away by the river. He was one of 10,000 National Guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott’s prized mission to secure the Texas-Mexico border.

Evans jumped into the raging waters without a flotation device, the Texas Military Department said in an email Tuesday in response to inquiries from The Texas Tribune and Military Times.

He took that risk because, like many other troops on the mission, he wasn’t outfitted with the potentially lifesaving equipment.

The Texas Military Department ordered rescue ropes and hundreds of ring buoys in February to increase safety for water rescues. But the equipment had not yet arrived to most Guard members at the time Evans died.

“The incident is still under investigation, however we do not believe SPC Evans had a floatation device at the time of death,” the Texas Military Department’s public affairs staff said Tuesday in an unattributed statement. “We only received about 25 percent of the requested equipment due to delays from the vendor and global supply chain issues.”

The public affairs staff also said it made the request for equipment in February as part of its plan to address “gaps in equipment and safety gear.”

It’s not clear why the equipment wasn’t requested until February, 11 months after the mission began in March 2021. For months, soldiers have decried a lack of equipment on Abbott’s hastily deployed border mission, but the absence of water equipment is the first time that lack of supplies may have contributed to a soldier’s death.

Two Guard officials specializing in logistics told Military Times and the Tribune that the Texas Military Department sat on a request for flotation devices for three weeks before it was approved. The delays, those officials said, were avoidable and highlight the dysfunction plaguing the unprecedented $2 billion-per-year state mission.

Category: "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", Army, Disposable Warriors, National Guard

22 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
FuzeVT

Very sad. He died because things can’t be acquired fast enough? Yes, there are many factors involved, but it seems if he had the equipment, the chances this would have happened would have been greatly reduced. Rest in peace, soldier.

Anonymous

He wasn’t wearing his PT belt and didn’t sign his I-Swear-to-be-Safe card! Heads will roll!

(Bureaucrats are different from normal people. You know how they are.)

HT3

The loss of human life is always saddening, but the lost life of a good soul is tragic. Rest in Peace young soldier, your duty is over.

Fm2176

Damn…I first heard of this watching a Fox News clip on YouTube. Jen Psaki reminded everyone that he worked for the state, not the federal government. Other administrations would be releasing an official statement and sending a representative to the border. Instead we get “he wasn’t one of ours” from the White House. Glad I’m done with the DC area in a few months.

7711C20

It just doesn’t fit their narritive mindset. Law enforcement in what ever form bad. They had no problem throwing the CBP officers under the bus at warp speed for the “whipping” incident and now refuse to acknowledge their innocence.

Graybeard

We have a lot of good men and women trying their best on the Texas border. To have some bureaucrat slow-roll something – for whatever reason – is unsat to the max; yet sadly little-to-nothing will be done to those responsible.

IMHO, those who sat on the request should be transferred forthwith to the border for the duration.

TopGoz

He died because he saw fellow human beings in distress and did the honorable thing – he cast aside his own safety to help the only way he could.
The lack of safety equipment, while regrettable, does not diminish the nobility, selflessness, and heroism of his actions.
He should never have been put into this position in the first place. The State of Texas should not have to defend our national border and people should not be crossing said border with impunity. Specialist Evans may have been a “state employee,” but the Biden administration owns his death.

USAFRetired

Amen!!!

Graybeard

Amen and Amen.

David

May be one of the best-written comments I have seen here. Yes, yes, and yes!

President Elect Toxic Deplorable Racist SAH Neande

AMEN!
(SALUTE!)

26Limabeans

Rest in peace young man.

USAFRetired

Hopefully they will at least provide his family The Soldier’s Medal on his behalf.

Back when I was a teenager and qualified as a lifeguard.

The mantra we were taught was Reach, throw, row, and go.

Graybeard

ARC Lifeguarding still teaches that.
Evidently Spc. Bishop Evans The Hero was left with no equipment for the first three options, and chose to “go”.

Jay

I bet Biden can’t find time in his busy ice cream and Mario Kart schedule to call Spc Evans’ family and tell them what an honorable man he was. Even though he could sure as hell call Duante Wright’s family….

Devtun

Don’t risk your life jumping in the river for these invading cocksuckers. Throw them a big fucking rock instead.

Herbert J Messkit

I heard the people he tried to save were arrested for drug smuggling

poetrooper

That’s what they were reporting on Fox News. If true, it only compounds the tragedy…

Devtun

We are losing this great country. To paraphrase 45, ‘The best & brightest are not coming to the border. The USA has become a dumping ground for the world’s garbage’.

ninja

Thank You, Mason, was sharing this.

BTW:

“The US Left $7 Billion Of Military Gear – Including 78 Aircraft, 12,000 Humvees And Thousands Of Air-To-Ground Weapons – In Afghanistan After Biden’s Chaotic 2021 Withdrawal, According To Pentagon Report:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10760917/The-left-7-billion-military-gear-including-78-aircraft-12-000-Humvees-Afghanistan.html

And this:

“Biden Requests $33 Billion From Congress For Ukraine Emergency Supplemental Funding: President Biden on Thursday is requesting $33 billion from Congress for additional security, military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine and for U.S. efforts to strengthen European security in cooperation with NATO allies and partners.

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-zelenskyy-live

Only Army Mom

I’ve been going back and forth between fury and sorrow since I heard about this. All my thoughts and prayers for this brave young man’s family as they try to process their son lost his life trying to save those…

I think I’ll just second Devtun’s suggestion about a rock for future instances. For this one, perhaps tying a rope – that the Spc. didn’t have – around the necks of the two … poor, desperate immigrants just looking for a better life for their children … prior to tossing the rope. Let’s pre-deploy that solution now, you know, just to be prepared.

I really hope I don’t need a /sarc tag. And I don’t know where I’d place it anyway.

Slow Joe

Stop coming over the fuckin border!

This tragedy falls on those crossing the border illegally and their enablers in our government.
Charge them all!