DoD Identifies Army Casualty

No. 1007-09 December 28, 2009
DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. Jason M. Johnston, 24, of Albion, N.Y., died December 26th in Arghandab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
For more information the media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at 910-432-0661.

.
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

No. 882-09 November 10, 2009

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

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

Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright, 26, of Union Bridge, Md., died November 7th while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command public affairs office at910-440-0770.

.

U.S. Department of Defense

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

No. 617-09 August 14, 2009
DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Capt. John Tinsley, 28, of Tallahassee, Fla., died August 12th in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.
For more information contact the U.S. Army Special Operations Command public affairs office at (910) 432-6005.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

Afghanistan: On Ground Updates - April 10, 2009

Afghanistan: On Ground Updates
U.S., Afghan Forces Kill 32 Insurgents in Southern Afghanistan
Friday, April 10, 2009
.

Coalition and Afghan forces killed 32 insurgents today during operations in southern Afghanistan, military officials reported.
.
In the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province, 15 insurgents were killed after opening fire on a U.S.-Afghan patrol. The coalition troops returned fire, killing all 15 attackers with small-arms, heavy weapons and aviation weapon support.
.
In Oruzgan province's Shahid E-Hassas district, enemy fighters fired small arms and rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. and Afghan forces on a reconnaissance patrol. The attackers fled to a nearby shopping district, but the coalition force eventually killed all 12 as they were found trying to regroup outside the bazaar.
.
In Kandahar province's Maywand district, U.S. and Afghan forces pursued and killed five insurgents allegedly connected with a Taliban logistics network. The network is believed to be responsible for a suicide-bombing in the area that killed four Afghan civilians and a coalition servicemember.
.
No coalition or Afghan casualties were reported from the operations.

From a DoD’s American Forces Press Service News Article - Compiled from U.S. Forces Afghanistan news releases

Afghanistan: On Ground Updates - August 19, 2008

Afghanistan: On Ground Updates
Insurgents Kill 10 French Troops in Afghanistan Attack
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Ten French soldiers were killed in Afghanistan when their patrol was attacked by Taliban fighters in Kabul province during fighting that spanned from late yesterday until early today, U.S. officials said.

Twenty-one other French troops were wounded in the engagement, which reportedly involved up to 100 insurgents, according to a NATO news release. Afghan security forces were with the French soldiers when enemy fighters attacked.

"As I understand it, it was a complex attack involving multiple weapons systems, small arms, mortars, rockets, and [it] lasted for several hours," senior Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters this morning.

U.S. forces in the area provided close-air support to the embattled French and Afghan troops, Whitman noted.

"There have been a couple of attacks recently," he told reporters, referring to recent insurgent assaults on a U.S. base in Afghanistan's Khowst province. Whitman demurred when he was asked if the attacks signify a shift in the insurgents' strategy in Afghanistan.

"I'm not ready to declare any sort of new [insurgent] strategy," he said.

"The attacks do symbolize the importance of the U.S.-coalition mission in Afghanistan," Whitman said. "I think it's a reflection of the fact that this is an enemy that needs to be taken on."

A senior spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force consoled the families of the fallen French soldiers.

"This is a difficult time right now for the families and friends of those who died or were injured, and we offer them our sincere condolences and sympathies," Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette said in a NATO news release dated today. "The lives of these soldiers are irreplaceable, but this loss does not deter ISAF from supporting the people of Afghanistan in their fight against the enemies of peace and stability."

In fighting today and yesterday, insurgents unsuccessfully attacked Forward Operating Base Salerno, a U.S. base in Afghanistan's Khowst province. Six insurgent suicide bombers died during the assaults, which failed to breach the base's perimeter. Ten Afghan civilians were killed, and 13 were wounded in yesterday's attack on the base.

"This is another example of the enemies of Afghanistan's complete disregard for the people of Afghanistan and the rule of law," U.S. Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, the ISAF commander, noted in a Combined Joint Task Force 101 news release. Yesterday's attack occurred during Afghanistan's 89th commemoration of its independence from Great Britain.

"I strongly condemn this callous and heartless attack on the people of Afghanistan on this highly significant day of celebration," McKiernan continued. "My resolve and that of the international community remain unwavering in our efforts to support the government of Afghanistan and the people of Afghanistan in bringing peace and security to their nation."

From a DoD, American Forces Press Service news article - Written by Gerry J. Gilmore

Afghanistan: On Ground Updates - July 17, 2008

Afghanistan:
On Ground Updates
As US Forces Abandon Outpost In Afghanistan Where Nine American Soldiers Were Killed Sunday, Afghan NATO Force Hit Targets Inside Pakistan
Thursday, July 17, 2008

* The New York Times website has this report up this Thursday morning and it begins like this... American forces have abandoned the outpost in northeastern Afghanistan where nine American soldiers were killed Sunday in a heavy attack by insurgents, NATO officials said Wednesday... The withdrawal handed a propaganda victory to the Taliban, and insurgents were quick to move into the village of Wanat beside the abandoned outpost, Afghan officials said. Insurgents nearly overran the barely built outpost in a dawn raid on Sunday, the most deadly assault for United States forces in Afghanistan since 2005... Those forces have fought some of their most difficult battles in Kunar and Nuristan Provinces, with their thickly forested mountainsides and steep ravines. Guerrillas mount ambushes and rocket attacks from the mountains and then easily escape...
Read this report in full at link below...
U.S. Abandons Site of Afghan Attack

* The International Herald Tribune website reports the stories this way... U.S. troops abandoned the remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants recently killed nine of their comrades, officials said Wednesday, while NATO launched artillery and helicopter strikes on insurgents in neighboring Pakistan...
Read the rest at link below...
U.S. troops abandon outpost on Afghan-Pakistani border

Map courtesy of CENTCOM

* REUTERS.com reports the news out of Afghanistan today this way... NATO forces in Afghanistan hit targets inside Pakistan with artillery and attack helicopters after coming under rocket fire from across the border, the alliance said on Wednesday... Tension is high along the border with a sharp rise in attacks in eastern Afghanistan coming from inside Pakistan that Afghan and NATO officials blame on de-facto ceasefires between the Pakistani military and militants in its lawless tribal belt...
Read the rest at link below...
Afghan NATO force hits targets inside Pakistan

* Thaindian.com website reports... NATO forces have attacked targets inside Pakistan after coming under fire from militants in the country’s North Waziristan region, the alliance has announced. The attack with helicopter gunships and artillery came after NATO Task Force (TF) Currahee in Afghanistan’s Paktika province “received multiple rocket attacks from militants inside Pakistan on July 15″, a statement posted on the NATO website said... “The troops identified a qalat (mound) as the point of origin of the attacks and responded in self-defence with a combination of fire from attack helicopters and artillery into Pakistan,” the statement said...
Read the rest at link below...
NATO targets militants in Pakistan

Gates Request $45 Billion Additional Funding To Cover Military Costs - Defense Stocks Hit New Highs

Gates Request $45 Billion Additional Funding To Cover Military Costs In Iraq And Afghanistan In 2008 - Defense Stocks Hit New Highs

CNNMoney.com brings us this report this afternoon and it starts off like this... Defense stocks on Wednesday hit new highs ahead of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' visit to Capitol Hill to request roughly $45 billion in additional funding to cover military costs in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008... The AMEX Defense Index, which tracks 14 major defense company stocks, rose 14.25 to a high of 1,686.72 in afternoon trading. Since last year, the index has risen roughly 47 percent, outperforming the broader S&P 500 index, which has climbed nearly 15 percent over the same period...
Read story in full HERE

>>> CNNPolitics.com has this report...
Gates to ask Congress for nearly $190 billion war funding

>>> USNEWS.com reports this...
Gates Seeks $50 Billion More for War

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

No. 551-07 May 08, 2007
DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died May 6th at Pol-e-Charki, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from small arms fire. Their deaths are under investigation.

Killed were:
Col. James W. Harrison Jr., 47, of Missouri. He was assigned to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Master Sgt. Wilberto Sabalu Jr., 36, of Chicago. He was assigned to the U.S. Military Police School, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

For more information on Harrison the media can contact the Fort Leavenworth public affairs office at (913) 684-1718. For more information on Sabalu the media can contact the Fort Leonard Wood public affairs office at (573) 563-4015.