Alum, Army Capt. Sklaver killed in Afghanistan

U.S. Army Capt. Benjamin Sklaver (LA ’99, F ’03) was killed Friday during an ambush in Muscheh, Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. He was 32.

Sklaver, a captain in the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, was serving in his second tour of duty.

The ambush is believed to have been perpetrated by a suicide bomber.

Sklaver graduated from the School of Arts and Sciences in 1999 with an international relations degree. He focused on security studies and humanitarian assistance at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. While at Tufts, he enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, and went on to serve with the U.S. Army in northern Uganda.

Sklaver’s service with the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa in northern Uganda opened his eyes to the problems plaguing the region, a site of continuous civil unrest and conflict since the 1980s. He returned home determined to bring clean drinking water to villagers who did not have access to it because of the violence there.

While working for the Centers For Disease Control on emergency health and refugee relief, Sklaver founded the ClearWater Initiative in 2007. This international nonprofit organization works to supply clean drinking water to rural Ugandans.

ClearWater is an all-volunteer organization. Drawing on the efforts of Sklaver and other leaders, the nonprofit spent a full 78 percent of its total 2008 budget on water projects, according to the ClearWater Web site.

Thomas Williams, Tufts’ senior associate director of alumni relations, who knew Sklaver personally when Williams first began working at Tufts, called him “an outstanding person.”

“He was very energetic,” Williams said, “a very civic and public-minded citizen.”

Sklaver was a native of Hamden, Conn. On Monday, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered all flags lowered to half staff in honor of the fallen captain. In a statement released by her office, Rell called Sklaver “a brave son who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom.”

The flags will remain at half staff until Sklaver has been laid to rest. Funeral arrangements are set for today.

Sklaver was engaged to be married to Beth Segaloff. Shortly before he was called back into active duty in Afghanistan, Sklaver had taken a job with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in New York so that he could be closer to Segaloff.

During his time at Tufts, Sklaver had been an active member of the Jewish community. Tufts Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, who is a member of Sklaver’s extended family and grew up with his parents, said he was heartbroken by the loss.

“Ben was an extraordinary man,” Summit told the Daily in an e-mail statement. “He had the gift of being able to combine his vision and practical experience to make transformational changes in communities.”

According to Williams, Sklaver was also part of a student-alumni relations committee that recruited alumni to come to campus to speak with current students about their majors and career aspirations.

Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler expressed her sadness on behalf of the university. “Our hearts go out to Benjamin Sklaver’s family and friends on the loss of this caring and courageous young man,” Thurler told the Daily.

For Tomo Takaki, a junior and a member of the ROTC, the news is a stark reminder of the realities of the ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We’re all aware of the risk, but you don’t really think about it every day,” Takaki said.

“When it’s right in your community — someone who lived in the same buildings you do — it makes it a lot more real,” Takaki said.

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Katherine Sawyer, Ben Gittleson and Giovanni Russonello contributed reporting to this article.

Comments

9 comments

SGT Bryann Parker

Tue Nov 3 2009 08:51

I served in the Horn of Africa with CPT SKlaver in `06-`07. I enjoyed every minute that I was in contact with him. He is one of the most kind hearted people I have had the pleasure to work with. The good things that he as done will be a lasting legacy to all of the people and their families that he has touched throught his carrer in the military as well as in his civilian capacity. The water projects that he oversaw from his tour in Africa, not to mention all of the other humanitarian projects he and his team completed, and those that were completed and ongoing through the program that he put together directly after his return for Africa have touched many lives and will be evident through many generations to come. He will ALWAYS be remembered.

wow

Wed Oct 7 2009 12:52

and the university still wants to hold classes on veterans day. shame.

Your name

Wed Oct 7 2009 09:00

i think 'thankful' ought not to cast blanket aspersions on a student populance they do not fully know.

Rabbi John F. A '89

Tue Oct 6 2009 21:29

This is heartbreaking. As an eight-year old, Ben was my camper and I, his counselor. Even then, Ben stood out for his extraordinary kind and gentle nature (even as he was also the biggest kid around). I always knew he would distinguish himself and was proud to have seen him become a youth leader at Congregation Mishkan Israel and later a Jumbo at Tufts, our synagogue and alma mater, respectively. May God comfort Ben's parents, brother and beloved among the mourners, and may Ben's memory forever be a blessing.

rob benet

Tue Oct 6 2009 14:28

Captain Sklaver's memory, work, and transcendant sense of altruism, compassion, and humanity outshines and is destined to far outlive the existence of those who took a vain, cynical, and ultimately futile attempt to erase it.
Ron B.

Thankful

Tue Oct 6 2009 12:43

It is unfortunate that Tufts does not produce more men such as CPT Sklaver. He truly embodied everything that makes America unique in this troubled world. May he rest in peace, and may his example hopefully inspire other Tufts students/alums to muster up the courage to serve.

tuftsalum09

Tue Oct 6 2009 10:58

Tufts Should DEFINITELY Honor him someway through a scholarship or award! This alum had truly embodied Tufts! I feel so heartfelt and genuinely sorry for the family's loss.

sad

Tue Oct 6 2009 09:53

This news breaks my heart.

Nanziri

Tue Oct 6 2009 09:15

I have no words to say. What a wonderful man Ben was. The projects and dreams he had for my native home Uganda (we love you Ben). The passion he had for humanity and his positive attitude of always using his resources to help others. Here is one of his emails to my husband:
"From: Ben Sklaver ClearWater [mailto:bsklaver@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 10:52 PM
To: Terrell Clark
Subject: Re: Uganda Gallery is Online!

Terrell,

Thanks for the email. It was great meeting you and Nan at the event Saturday night, and we would definitely like to find a way to get you and your work involved in our next event. Still working out the final tally, but it looks like we raised about $10,000 for clean water projects in Lira, Pader and Kitgum. Perhaps on your next trip to Uganda we could send you locations of the completed projects and see what images you can capture.

Best of luck with all your work, and look forward to seeing your gallery show in October.

Kind regards,

Ben

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