66. Mandy Feindt: Red Hill Fuel Leak and the US Navy Cover-Up

Army Major Mandy Feindt joins The Feds this week. Mandy is one of 93,000 people impacted by the 2021 Red Hill Water Crisis while she was serving in a nominative position with Special Operations Command-Pacific and living in military housing in Hawaii.  In May and November of 2021, approximately 20,000 gallons of jet fuel leaked from the US Navy’s Red Hill Underground Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and contaminated the military’s drinking water system. These incidents caused thousands of military & civilian families, including Mandy’s one and three year old children, to get very sick and be evacuated from their homes for nearly 4 months. 

Mandy had the conviction to speak up after observing the Navy’s mishandling of the crisis, particularly its lack of transparency, and failure to take precautionary measures to protect human health. Over the past 3 years, she has been a relentless advocate for clean water, accountability, and the health and safety of her children, fellow service members, military & civilian families, and native people of Hawaii impacted by this crisis. Chemicals of concern with the Red Hill water crisis are similar to that of Camp Lejeune, including: total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, naphthalene, methylnaphthalenes, lead, and PFAS. 

After making several forms of protected communication with senior military leadership, the DOD IG, and members of Congress, Mandy faced gross retaliation from Navy officials and her command team. She filed for DOD Whistleblower Protection in February 2022. To date, her case has still not been adjudicated. 

Mandy is still serving on active duty but is currently in a “patient status” at the Fort Belvoir Soldier Recovery where she receives treatment for physical, mental, and moral injuries sustained from Red Hill. Her family has been to over 600 medical appointments, undergone multiple surgeries, and still suffering with long term health impacts, including: TBI, PTSD, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological issues. 

Mandy is working on a bill to implement mandatory event-oriented medical monitoring, access to occupational environmental medicine, and the issuance of hazardous duty pay to service members following any DOD toxic exposure situation like Red Hill. 

Press Release on the Inspector General Report: https://www.dodig.mil/In-the-Spotlight/Article/3963988/press-release-the-dod-oig-releases-reports-and-management-advisory-on-hawaiis-r/

Mandy’s Instagram: major_mom_

All documents and articles related to Mandy and Red Hill: https://linktr.ee/MajorMom 

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