Today, the army wore their body armor and helmets on patrol in Iraq, including a 3^rd Brigade Combat Team Soldier whose family said he was killed after being told that protective gear wasn’t necessary for a friendly patrol.

The family told newspapers in Missouri and Alabama that Spc. Steven Fitzmoris was sent on a patrol last week in Baghdad without the Kevlar and steel armor because the unit was headed to a safe area. The family said the information came from “unofficial” Army sources.

Rosemarie Fitzmorris-Currier, the Soldier’s mother, told the Opelika Aubum News in Alabama that the Army was also late in telling the family about the death.

In an e-mail from Baghdad, brigade spokesman Maj. Mike Humphreys said Fitzmorris and other Soldiers were on their guard when they went into the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiyah to meet locals and distribute fliers. Fitzmorris was assigned to the brigade’s 3^rd Battalion, 29^th Field Artillery Regiment and he was part of a group of artillery troops who had been pulled from guard duty at Baghdad’s Green Zone compound to conduct patrols in the neighborhood.

Fitzmorris, together with his comrades were battle-ready, like every patrol in the vicinity. But the armor wasn’t enough to save the life of Fitzmorris. According to a Fort Carson official, Fitzmorris was shot in the neck by a sniper who aimed for the inches-wide gap between his body armor and helmet.

Humphreys and the soldiers scrambled to save Fitzmorris and the hunt for the sniper was halted. Unfortunately, Fitzmorris died within a few hours, when he was rushed in the hospital.

After the death, Army officials tried to find Fitzmorris’ family, but Humphreys said information on Fitzmorris’ relatives seemed to be out of date. Fitzmorris’ widow and two young children were located in a few hours. Humphreys said it was about 24 hours by the time the mother had been found.

Humphreys said the Army is working with troops and their families to get updated contact information that will allow people to be found rapidly if the worst happens. In Adhamiyah, the hunt for the sniper who killed Fitzmorris still continues. Fitzmorris said:

“We have intensified our search for snipers in the area, specific ally the one who killed Fitzmorris,” Humphreys said, noting that the Army is offering cash to locals who would help find the shooter.