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The suspicious death of Cpl. Brandon Javier Alvarez
22-year-old Corporal Brandon Javier Alvarez was found dead in his barracks on June 6, while stationed with the U.S. Marine Corps in Bahrain.
Cpl. Alvarez was in Bahrain for a little over two weeks before his death. The minimal amount of information given to the family about what happened has led them to speak out against such a blatant lack of transparency.
Missing Information
At the time of his death, Cpl. Alvarez was assigned to the Fleet Anti-Terrorism Support Team of the Central Marine Corps Security Force Regiment, in the Bahraini capital of Manama.
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Maria Cruz, Alvarez’s mother, took to the streets 10 days after her son’s death to petition the injustice outside of Naval Base Ventura County. Speaking into a bullhorn, she said, “The Marines have not been supportive of me. They are sweeping my son’s murder under the carpet, and it’s not okay.”
Jessica McBride, a reporter for Heavy.com, reached out to the Corps for information on Alvarez’s death.
Gina Levy, deputy director for COMMSTRAT and USMC Opps, replied, “Provided below is service information for the deceased Marine corporal you inquired about below. Further details on the deceased service member are unavailable while the referenced circumstances of June 6th remain under investigation.”
The information provided is as follows:
RANK: CORPORAL
NAME: BRANDON J. ALVAREZ
UNIT: FLEET ANTI-TERRORISM SUPPORT TEAM Central Command (FASTCENT), NSA MANAMA BAHRAIN, MARINE CORPS SECURITY FORCE REGIMENT
DATES OF SERVICE: November 26, 2018 – SERVICE JOIN DATE
May 21, 2021 – June 6, 2021 – Assigned to FASTCENT NSA, MANAMA BAHRAIN
PREVIOUS COMMAND: July 18, 2019 – May 20, 2021 – Marine Corps Air Station Miramar San Diego
Cpl. Alvarez’s sister, Elva Castellanos, posted a message on Facebook denouncing any possibility of suicide.
In the post, she stated, “There’s so many questions unanswered, he went to the Middle East under PCS orders, because he was doing super good at his duty station MCAS Miramar in San Diego. They offered him orders to Manama, Bahrain he was there for only 2 weeks. This doesn’t add UP. I want the whole WORLD to know something is not right and to know that Brandon was loved by many in his community and I spoke with him before he went to bed and he was HAPPY, HAPPY to be alive as always.”
At the end of her post, Castellanos said “LETS BE BRANDONS VOICE.”
Death in Question
Cruz said that her son’s phone was turned off the day before he died, even though he was in near-constant contact with his family.
After a period of not speaking with Alvarez, his family was informed that he was found “with no life” in his barracks. His death came as a complete shock, as his family just assumed he was busy working.
Cruz says that, when her son’s body arrived back in the states, she was not allowed to open and view it. She says she later learned that he had bruises covering his face.
Deborah Cruz, Alvarez’s cousin, wrote on her blog that “It is being referred to as a ‘non-combat incident.’ His family is devastated. They sent him to Bahrain 2 weeks previous, with his entire future ahead of him. Only to have him returned to them in a casket draped with the American flag, no explanation and no answers.”
In the passage following this one, Cruz claimed, “Family members flew across the country from California to Delaware just to meet the body with plans to identify him. They were refused and restricted to stay 40 yards away from the casket. They were refused the right to identify his body.”
