The son of the commander of a Schweinfurt, Germany-based infantry battalion currently in Iraq was found dead in the family’s on-post house on Thursday afternoon, officials said Friday.

Justin Schacht, 15, was the son of Lt. Col. Eric Schacht. Schacht is commander of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment. Justin Schacht was “found unresponsive in his family’s home in the Askren Manor housing area,” a news release from the Schweinfurt public affairs office read. “Medical authorities responded but were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m.”

German and American authorities are investigating the cause of death, officials said, but foul play is not suspected.

Known as the Blue Spaders, the unit has been in Iraq since last year.Money given to base programs

The Defense Department’s campaign manager for the Combined Federal Campaign overseas handed over more than $258,000 raised for base family support and youth programs in Europe.

Renee Acosta, president and chief executive officer of Global Impact, presented a check this week to Army Gen. William E. “Kip” Ward, U.S. European Command deputy commander, at EUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, according to a press release.

Global Impact, a nonprofit organization that raises money to support humanitarian relief and development programs for the world’s poor, has served as the Pentagon-appointed Combined Federal Campaign manager since 1995.

The campaign solicits donations from American servicemembers and civilian employees for more than 1,900 charities during a nine-week period in the fall. Last year, volunteers at overseas bases raised more than $15.5 million.

Family Support and Youth Programs is the local charity volunteers can donate to during the campaign.

Mountain bikes recalledMAINZ-KASTEL, Germany — At the behest of a mountain bike manufacturer and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service has joined in a voluntary recall of some models due to a possible defective part.

In the past year, about 50 AAFES customers in the Pacific and European theaters have purchased Cannondale mountain bikes possibly built with a faulty front fork frame, according to an exchange news release. The parts were identified as Lefty Speed SL and Lefty Speed DLR Forks, used in such bicycle models as Scalpel, Rush and Caffeine.

Cannondale has received 15 reports of the forks separating, which caused five injuries, including a broken collarbone, a concussion and broken ribs. The advisory asks consumers to stop using the bikes and to contact a Cannondale dealer.

For a complete list of the bicycle models built with either of these two forks, go to the AAFES Web site at www.aafes.com and click on “Product Recalls/Alerts” near the bottom left of the page or the Cannondale Web site at www.cannondalecommunity.com and click on “News & Events” at the top of the page.

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