1LT Ashley Irene White, 24, of Alliance, Ohio, assigned to 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard, Goldsboro, N.C.
Ashley always pushed herself to be a better person, according to her family.
So it came as little shock when White, a first lieutenant in the North Carolina National Guard, volunteered to be part of an elite team of women soldiers who work alongside Special Operations forces.
White, a member of the second-ever class of Cultural Support Team soldiers, was killed along with two Army Rangers on Saturday in Afghanistan, officials said.
A Cultural Support Team is an all-volunteer force formed in late 2010 that is trained at Fort Bragg.
The women soldiers who serve on the teams assist Army Special Operations combat forces by engaging the women in areas where such contact may be culturally inappropriate for male soldiers.
White, 24, was a native of Alliance, Ohio, who lived in Raeford with her husband, CPT Jason Stumpf, officials said.
She was killed in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device.
Also killed were SFC Kristoffer B. Domeij, 29, of San Diego, Calif., and PFC Christopher A. Horns, 20, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Domeij and Horns were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
White was assigned to the N.C. National Guard’s 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team but was attached to a Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan.
A news release from Army Special Operations Command said White “selflessly served and her actions exemplify the highest commitment to duty, honor and country.”
In addition to her husband, White is survived by her parents, Robert and Deborah White; a brother, Josh; and a twin sister, Brittney, all of Alliance, Ohio.
Josh White said he and his siblings were inseparable while growing up in Ohio.
“We did everything together,” he said.
White attended Kent State University and, while enrolled, decided to join the military.
“The values behind the decision were instilled by our father,” Josh White said. “We supported her because we knew it was what she loved.”
But that support didn’t halt the fears that were realized Saturday, he said.
White’s parents had traveled to Dover Air Force Base, Del. on Sunday to retrieve their daughter’s remains.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete as of Sunday evening, according to the N.C. National Guard.
Josh White described his sister as a woman who never settled for anything less than her best.
“She always pushed herself,” he said. “She would drive herself to be the absolute best.”
In the military, White found a release for that dedication and a way to put her skills to use in helping people, her brother said.
“She said she felt like she was making a difference. She loved being a soldier,” he said. “It was never all about her. That’s just the type of person she was.”
From Afghanistan, officials said White was a crucial member of the special operations strike force to which she was assigned and said her efforts highlighted both the importance and necessity of women on the battlefield today.
“This battalion mourns the tragic loss of 1LT Ashley White. Ashley was an incredibly talented officer and teammate who lost her life while committed to making a difference in our effort in Afghanistan,” LTC David Hodne, commander of 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, said in a release. “She demonstrated a level of quiet courage that set the example for others to follow, and we will never forget her sacrifice. Her family is in our thoughts and prayers.”
The N.C. National Guard also issued a release in reference to White’s death.
“We are grieving with her family today. Our prayers are with them during this difficult time,” said MG Greg Lusk, adjutant general of North Carolina and commander of the nearly 12,000 men and women of the North Carolina National Guard. “She was a fine soldier who never shied away from the tough jobs. We will miss her.”
White, who deployed in August, was on her first tour in Afghanistan, according to the military.
She was commissioned as an officer after graduating college in 2009 and trained at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Fort Benning, Ga., before being assigned to the 230th Brigade Support Battalion, where she served as an evacuation platoon leader.
White’s awards and decorations include the Parachutist Badge, the Ohio Faithful Service Ribbon, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Army Reserve Achievement Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
She will be posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
LTC Tom Bryant, spokesman for Army Special Operations Command, said Cultural Support Teams first deployed in support of Army Special Operations soldiers at the first of the year.
He said White was a member of the second class following a stringent selection process and a difficult seven weeks of training that is comparable to what other Special Operations soldiers go through.
Cultural Support Teams assist in a variety of functions in Afghanistan, including medical civic-action programs, searches and seizures, humanitarian assistance and civil-military operations.
White was the 1,815th American killed in Afghanistan.
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