RSS

Category Archives: War on Terror

Neil I. Turner

16 Jan

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

PFC Neil I. Turner, 21, of Tacoma, Wash., died 11 Jan 12, in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion; 41st Infantry Regiment; 3rd Brigade Combat Team; 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas.

PFC Turner is the 1,875th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

For more information media may contact the First Armored Division public affairs at 915-744-8406/915-203-3769 or at dennis.r.swanson4.mil@mail.mil .

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 16, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

Michael W. Pyron

16 Jan

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

PFC Michael W. Pyron, 30, of Hopewell, Va., died 10 Jan 12 in Parwan province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 25th Signal Battalion; 160th Signal Brigade; 335th Signal Command Theater out of East Point, Ga.

For more information please contact Maj. Carla Debro at 678-420-1610 ext 2501 or email at Carla.debro@us.army.mil .

PFC Pyron is the 1,874th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 16, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

Dustin P. Napier

11 Jan

A soldier from south-central Kentucky who was killed in Afghanistan is being remembered as well-liked, well-respected and a good role model.

Army officials say 20-year-old PFC Dustin P. Napier of London died Sunday due to injuries from enemy small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion; 24th Infantry Regiment; 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team; 25th Infantry Division based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Students and teachers at South Laurel High School, where Napier graduated in 2010, were especially saddened when they received word of Napier’s death, The Times-Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/zmd3lQ ).

Napier died Sunday in the city of Qalat, in Zabul province, according to the Defense Department statement and a report from Army Alaska. Napier was playing volleyball at a camp when a man dressed in an Afghan Army uniform opened fire, according to the newspaper Stars and Stripes, which is not affiliated with the military.

Two other Stryker soldiers were wounded in the attack, according to the Army.

A New York Times report that describes the shooting but does not identify Napier by name identifies the shooter as a man named Shafiullah from the Pashtun region of Pakistan.

Shafiullah was shot and killed by another American soldier who heard the firing.

The shooter’s status in the Afghan army and his motives for shooting American soldiers was not immediately clear, according to the report; unlike some past cases of Afghan soldiers killing coalition forces, the Taliban did not immediately claim credit for the attack.

Outside the school on Monday, the American flag stood at half-staff, while those inside shared their memories of Napier.

COL Mark Jones with the Air Force Junior ROTC said everyone at the school was saddened by the news and the JROTC plans a memorial service for Napier on Friday.

“I remember Napier when he was here, and I remember him as a model student, very quiet and serious,” Jones said.

South Laurel’s Principal David Cummins said Napier was a “model student.”

“The last couple of days have been really trying around here with his loss,” Cummins said. “A lot of students really looked up to him as a role model and someone they could believe in.”

High school senior Devan Burkhart, who is cadet captain of the school’s JROTC program, said he remembers Napier as “a good friend, a good mentor, and truly a good person.”

“He really had a kind of charisma about him that you liked,” Burkhart said. “What I learned in the JROTC program as far as the Color Guard, the Drill Team and other things, I learned from him. He was the one who would tell me, ‘Stick with it,’ when I got frustrated with the program, and I did stick with it.”

Junior Ashley Smith, who also participates in the JROTC program, said she remembers getting encouragement and support from Napier.

“He encouraged me to go into the Army …” she said. “He taught us discipline, self-respect and basic core values. He said, ‘Service before self,’ and he not only talked it, he did it. Dustin lived his dream, which was to be an American soldier.”

Napier was married in October, according to the Kentucky TV station WLEX.

PFC Napier is the 1,873rd American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – Stryker soldier killed in Afghanistan remembered at former high school

 
1 Comment

Posted by on January 11, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

Indiana National Guardsmen killed

09 Jan

The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that four soldiers with an Indiana-based National Guard unit were killed in Afghanistan and a fifth was injured when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb as they were working to clear a supply route of the improvised bombs, guard officials said Saturday.

Indiana Adjutant General Martin Umbarger said the four members of the Valparaiso-based 713th Engineer Company died Thursday morning in southern Afghanistan. He said all of the men were combat engineers who specialized in clearing major supply routes.

The blast occurred as their vehicle traveled along a road, scouting for signs of roadside bombs and other potential problems convoys might encounter as they move supplies in the decade-long war in Afghanistan, Umbarger said.

“Their mission is to keep the major supply routes clear of all obstacles for the convoys. And what that means is they’re the first ones to go out to make sure the route can be used, so it’s a very important mission — but it’s also extremely dangerous,” he told The Associated Press.

The four men killed were identified as: SSG Jonathan M. Metzger, 32, of Indianapolis, SPC. Brian J. Leonhardt, 21, of Merrillville, Ind., SPC Robert J. Tauteris Jr., 44, of Hamlet, Ind., and SPC Christopher A. Patterson, 20, of Aurora, Ill.

A fifth soldier injured in the blast, Pvt. Douglas Rachowicz, 29, of Hammond, Ind., was initially treated at a military base hospital in Kandahar before being airlifted to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, Umbarger said.

He said the four soldiers’ deaths were the greatest number of Indiana guardsmen killed since March 2005, when four members of the Indianapolis-based 76th Infantry Brigade died when a land mine exploded under their military vehicle about 30 miles south of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Gov. Mitch Daniels said in a statement that Umbarger called him Saturday morning to tell him of the deaths. The governor said he’s praying for the soldiers’ families.

“I received from the adjutant general the news a person in my job dreads the most, that we have lost soldiers in combat. I had begun to hope that I had received the last such phone call, and cannot convey the sadness which it instantly brought,” Daniels said.

“My prayers are joined with those of millions of Hoosiers who will hear this terrible news with deep grief but also with gratitude for the courage of those we have lost, and pride that we come from a state that produces men such as these,” he said.

Umbarger said the four soldiers’ families were informed Friday of the deaths, and the last family members were told the news Friday night. He said he’s “humbled and honored” by the courage of the nation’s service members and said the sacrifices of the four men won’t be forgotten.

“I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of these brave citizen-soldiers,” he said in a statement. “We will honor their sacrifice and always remember them.”

SSG Metzger, SPC Leonhardt, SPC Tauteris and SPC Patterson are respectively the 1,869th, 1,870th, 1,871st and 1,872nd Americans to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 9, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags: , , ,

Matthew R. Seidler

09 Jan

A 24-year-old airman from Westminster was killed when an improvised explosive device hit his vehicle in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said Saturday.

Airman 1st Class Matthew R. Seidler died Thursday in the attack, which killed two other airmen. They were patrolling in Helmand, a southwestern province that remains a Taliban stronghold.

Airmen First Class Seidler is the 1,868th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 9, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

Bryan R. Bell

09 Jan

An Erie County native was among three airmen who were killed Thursday in Afghanistan when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device, the Pentagon announced Saturday.

Senior Airman Bryan R. Bell, 23, of Harborcreek was assigned to the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Airman Bell, Tech. Sgt. Matthew S. Schwartz, 34, of Traverse City, Mich., and Airman 1st Class Matthew R. Seidler, 24, of Westminster, Md., were killed in the explosion in Shir ghazi, Helmand province. No further details were available.

The Erie Times News reported that Airman Bell joined the U.S. Air Force in 2006 and served a tour of duty in Iraq. As an explosive-ordnance disposal technician, his main job was to clear routes with two other servicemen in an armored vehicle, his father, Rick Bell of Harborcreek, told the newspaper.

Airman Bell last visited his dad over the summer, before his deployment to Afghanistan. He was still excited about his dangerous job, which gained notoriety with the movie “The Hurt Locker,” which won the Academy Award for best picture in 2010.

As a child, Airman Bell would spend his spare time at the fire station where his father has been a volunteer firefighter for 37 years, the Erie paper reported.

At 14 years old, Airman Bell joined the fire company as a junior fireman. By the time he had graduated from Harbor Creek High School in 2006, he had risen to the rank of senior fireman.

His mother, Donna Aldrich, lives in Harborcreek, and his wife, Alaina Hart Bell, lives in Louisiana, where he was stationed before deployment.

Funeral services, details of which are incomplete, will be held in Erie.

Senior Airmen Bell is the 1,867th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12008/1202176-54.stm#ixzz1izNGHKD7

 
1 Comment

Posted by on January 9, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

Matthew S. Schwartz

09 Jan

The remains of a Michigan native killed in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan have been returned to the U.S., the Air Force said Sunday.

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana confirmed that the body of Tech. Sgt. Matthew S. Schwartz of Traverse City had been flown to the Dover, Del., Air Force Base. Funeral arrangements were incomplete Sunday.

Sgt. Schwartz, 34, and two others died Thursday when an improvised explosive device, or IED, hit their vehicle in Helmand province, the Defense Department said.

Sgt. Schwartz, who was on his sixth deployment, was an explosive ordnance disposal specialist assigned to F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. He was a 1996 graduate of Traverse City Central High School with 12 years in the Air Force.

Those at Traverse City Central were “saddened by his death” and “proud that he was a Trojan,” principal Rick Vandermolen said. Sgt. Schwartz’s name is to be engraved on a bench in a memorial garden at the school, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported.

Also killed in the attack were Senior Airman Bryan Bell, 23, of Erie, Pa., of the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and Airman 1C Matthew Seidler, 24, of Westminster, Md., of the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

Tech Sgt Schwartz is the 1,866th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 9, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

Chad R. Regelin

04 Jan

Word was received today that U.S. Navy Petty Officer Chad R. Regelin, 24, of Anderson was fatally injured about 11:15 a.m. PST Monday, Jan. 2, while serving as a bomb disposal expert in southern Afghanistan.

Parents Shirene and Scott Regelin of Anderson were visited with the sad news of their son’s death shortly after 2 p.m. Monday when four uniformed representatives of the U.S. Armed Forces showed up on their doorstep.

“My heart is absolutely breaking at this time!! I wish someone could tell me it is not true!!! I don’t think I will ever get the picture out of my mind of the four men standing at the door to give me the news. I just want him to come home and let me hug him. I honestly do not know how I am going to get through this!!” Shirene Regelin posted on Facebook at 8:18 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Within minutes, family and close family friends were responding with condolences and offers of assistance.

According to Justin Regelin, 31, also of Anderson, his youngest brother Chad Regelin had called the family from Afghanistan just an hour before the roadside bomb detonated.

“He called us while he was on watch. He was really upbeat because he had just gotten his orders to come back stateside on Feb. 15. He told us that he had about a week to go (in Kandahar) before they could helicopter in the replacement team,” Justin Regelin said today.

Shortly after the phone call ended, Chad Regelin and the rest of his team split into squads to do their routine patrols. A bomb explosion drew their attention to a spot beside a road just outside of the military base. While Chad Regelin and his teammates were sifting through the debris and bomb crater for any kind of forensic evidence that would link the bomb to the person or people who had made it, a secondary explosion from a “direct switch” device exploded, fatally injuring Chad Regelin, his brother recounted from a briefing the family received earlier today.

“He suffered some broken bones, but they believe he died from head injuries. They were able to airlift him out of there and he was conscious for about a half-hour before he died in a military hospital,” Justin Regelin said.

Chad Regelin’s body was flown to Germany and then to Dover Air Force Base outside of Washington, D.C., where military-trained personnel will prepare the body in a dress uniform before flying it home to Anderson. The process will take between four and five days, Justin Regelin said.

“Yesterday was pretty tough for the family,” Justin Regelin said today. “I’ve been through a time of sadness. It’s tough to lose your littlest brother. But he said he was at peace with what he was doing (as a bomb disposal expert.) That is what he loved to do.”

Arrangements are pending for a memorial service and burial at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo, Justin Regelin said.

“It is just hard to know that someone was waiting to pull the trigger that killed him,” Justin Regelin said of his brother.

Recognized by the USO in October as its 2011 Sailor of the Year, Chad Regelin was serving as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician with Mobile Unit Three in southern Afghanistan.

The USO recognized him for heroic actions during his first tour, from August 2010 through March 2011, when he “personally located and destroyed 24 IEDs (improvised exploding devices or roadside bombs), trained 13 commando engineers in counter-IED tactics and fought in more than 20 direct fire engagements,” according to the USO’s 70th anniversary banquet program given to guests at the Oct. 6 event in Washington, D.C.

Chad Regelin was unable to attend the awards ceremony as he was serving a second tour of duty in Afghanistan as a replacement for another bomb disposal expert who had been injured. It was during that second tour in Afghanistan that Regelin was killed.

However, his parents, sister and one of two older brothers made the trip back east to tour the White House, Pentagon and U.S. Capitol buildings prior to the banquet held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

Chad Regelin was stationed at the San Diego Naval Base.

A 2005 graduate of Anderson Union High School, Regelin enlisted in the Navy in 2006. While in high school, Regelin helped launch the school’s Surf Club and was named Outstanding Senior for the Anderson Cubs varsity football squad.

Petty Officer Regelin is the 1,865th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 4, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

Pernell J. Herrera

02 Jan

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

SPC Pernell J. Herrera, 33, of Espanola, N.M., died 31 Dec 11, in Helmand province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment, Santa Fe, N.M.

PFC Whitmire is the 1,864th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
2 Comments

Posted by on January 2, 2012 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

Justin M. Whitmire

30 Dec

The Department of Defense announced the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

PFC Justin M. Whitmire, 20, whose home of record is listed as Easley, S.C., died 27 Dec 11 in Paktia, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered from the detonation of an improvised explosive device.

Whitmire joined the military in September 2010 as a health care specialist and was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, since September 2011.

Whitmire deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in July 2011.

Whitmire’s awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

PFC Whitmire is the 1,863rd American killed in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 30, 2011 in War on Terror

 

Tags:

← Older posts
Newer posts →