US Army Captain Aaron R. Blanchard, serving with the 2nd Aviation Battalion, was one of two American soldiers killed on 23rd April 2013 in Pul-e-Alam.
32-year-old Capt. Blanchard, from Selah, Washington, was commissioned in the US Army in June 2009, having previously served with the US Marine Corps. He trained as an Apache helicopter pilot and transferred to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, in 2011. He deployed with his unit to Afghanistan in April this year.
His awards include the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, NATO Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Combat Action Badge and the Army Achievement Medal, among many other decorations.
Captain Blanchard leaves his wife, two children, mother, father and two brothers.
Captain Blanchard and his colleague, 1st Lt. Robert J. Hess, died from "wounds suffered from enemy indirect fire," according to a statement by the US department of Defense.
Polish Army Senior Private Pawel Ordynski was killed on 20th March 2013 during a mounted patrol in Ghazni.
He was part of a routine patrol north-west of the city when his vehicle struck a road mine.
29-year-old S/Pvt. Ordynski had previously deployed to the Balkans and to Afghanistan. He served with the 12th Mechanised Brigade as a driver, having joined the Army in 2004. This was his fourth mission to Afghanistan.
Another Polish soldier was seriously injured in the blast and was evacuated by helicopter to the Polish base in Ghazni.
More information to follow.
British Army Lance Corporal James Ashworth, aged 23, was killed in action during a fierce battle with Taliban fighters last year, on 13th June.
During the battle, L-Cpl Ashworth, who was leading a platoon of soldiers fighting their way through compounds in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand, was cut off from his unit. Killing three enemy fighters, L-Cpl Ashworth had put himself in the front line of fire to draw the enemy from other soldiers in his unit.
He died when a grenade was launched and exploded next to him.
His actions, and an incredible last stand that followed, persuaded senior officers to recommend him for the Victoria Cross.
The Victoria Cross - the highest military award in the UK - is given for 'most conspicuous bravery'. Only ten have been awarded since World War Two and only one other awarded during the Afghanistan War.
Read the full story at The Daily Mail
US Army Captain Andrew M. Pedersen-Keel was one of two American soldiers killed on Monday 11th March by an Afghan policeman in Jalrez, Wardak province.
Capt. Pedersen-Keel and US Army Staff Sgt. Rex Schad were attending a joint-services meeting when an Afghan policeman opened fire on the group. Three Afghans were killed and several troops injured in the attack.
28-year-old Capt. Pedersen-Keel served with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He graduated from the US Military Academy in 2006. In 2008, he served in Afghanistan and, at the end of that 12-month deployment, he completed the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and joined the 3rd Special Forces Group in 2012. He deployed to Afghanistan on this current tour late last year.
Capt. Pedersen-Keel's awards and decorations include two Bronze Star Medals, Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, among others.
He was repatriated to Dover Air Force Base on 12th March 2013.
51-year-old Inez 'Renee' Baker was killed on Friday 8th March 2013 during an attack at Forward Operating Base Tagab, in Kapisa province. The attack happened early afternoon when three men, dressed as Afghan soldiers, drove a vehicle into the gate of the base, before opening fire and killing Ms. Baker.
Two Afghan soldiers also died and four coalition soldiers were injured in the attack. The three attackers were also killed.
Ms. Baker had served in the US Army for 26 years. She retired last year and began working as a private contractor.
More information to follow.
26-year-old French Paratroop Corporal Cédric Charenton was killed in action during operations in Mali on 2nd March 2013. Cpl. Charenton had previously served in Afghanistan. He is the third French soldier to die in Mali during the current operation.
The incident happened as French and Chadian troops assaulted enemy positions in the Ametettai Valley - about 50 miles from Tessalit. During the assault, 12 insurgents were killed, several vehicles destroyed and three large caches of weapons and explosives were discovered and seized by French Forces.
Cpl. Charenton, who served with the elite Airborne Infantry 1st Regiment, was hit by small-arms fire. He had previously served in New Caledonia and Gabon, as well as Afghanistan.
French Foreign Legion Sergeant Harold Vormezeele, a veteran of three tours in Afghanistan, was killed in action during an operation in Mali on 19th February 2013.
Sgt. Vormezeele, born in Belgium in 1979, had served with the Foreign Legion for almost 14 years.
His unit, 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2REP), parachuted in to Timbuktu on 27th January this year. On 19th February, Sgt. Vormezeele was part of an armoured patrol, 50km south of Tessalit, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces. During this engagement, he was fatally wounded.
He served in Afghanistan in 2008, 2010 and 2011. He had also previously served in Bosnia, Gabon, Djibouti, Cote d'Ivoire and the Central African Republic and had been awarded four Cross of Military Valour medals during his career.
Polish Commando Captain Krzysztof Woźniak was killed in action on 23rd January 2013 during an anti-terrorist operation in Ghazni province.
The 36-year-old father of three was part of a unit supporting Afghan security forces in the province. During the operation, the units came under heavy fire from enemy forces. Several Polish soldiers were wounded in the attack including Capt. Woźniak.
He was evacuated by helicopter to the Polish military hospital in Ghazni but could not be saved.
Capt. Woźniak, a member of Poland's Armed Forces since 1996, had deployed on several overseas operations during his career. This was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan. was serving with Poland’s Elite Special Forces Unit (GROM).
KABUL: A NATO/ISAF soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan earlier today - 23rd January 2013 - after an enemy attack on a joint patrol.
The soldier was named as Polish Commando Captain Krzysztof Woźniak.
The funeral of Spanish Army Bomb-disposal technician, Sergeant David Fernández Ureña, killed by a bomb in northwest Afghanistan on 11th January, was held on Sunday morning at the parade ground of the "San Genís" barracks in Monzalbarba (Zaragoza), Spain, base of the Bridge-Builders and Engineering Specialists Regiment Nº 12.
The ceremony was presided over by His Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias, together with the Minister for Defence, Pedro Morenés, and the President of the Region of Aragon, Maria Fernanda Rudi, as well as the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff and other civilian and military authorities.
Read full report at the Leader
Spanish Army Sergeant David Fernandez Ureña was killed in a bomb blast earlier today - 11th January 2013 - in northwestern Afghanistan.
35-year-old Sgt. Ureña and his unit were investigating a reported IED on a road between Qala i Naw and Darra i Bun. He was killed while carrying out reconnaissance work on the device and was preparing to defuse it.
Sgt. Ureña had previously deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.
More information to follow.
US Army Sergeant Aaron X. Wittman, from Chester, Virginia, was killed during a mounted patrol in eastern Afghanistan on 10th January 2013. Enemy forces fired on his unit using small arms in Khogyani District, Nangarhar Province.
28-year-old Sgt. Wittman served with the Georgia-based 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment.
More information to follow.
An American military service member was killed today - 10th January 2013 - during an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan.
The soldier has been named by the US Department of Defense as Sergeant Aaron X. Wittman from 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment.
23-year-old British Army Sapper Richard Reginald Walker from 28 Engineer Regiment, attached to 21 Engineer Regiment, was shot and killed on Monday 7th January 2013 by a member of the Afghan National Army (ANA) at Patrol Base Hazrat in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.
Born in Leeds, Sapper Walker worked as a technician for Vauxhall before joining the Army in July 2008. On completion of his training, he joined 28 Engineer Regiment in Hameln, Germany, in September 2009, and deployed to Canada and Kenya on major exercises. He deployed to Afghanistan in September last year.
Sapper Walker represented his Regiment at football and spent endless hours in the gym. His family said in a tribute to Sapper Walker: "Richard held two things close to his heart – his daughter and his colleagues in the Army. A proud, patriotic man, he died doing a job he loved, supporting his friends."
Lieutenant Brad Southall RE, Support Troop Commander, 42 Field Squadron, 28 Engineer Regiment, said: "Sapper Walker was a shining star. When I took command of my troop I was struck by his charisma, his devotion to duty and his immense capability."
Staff Sergeant Sean Eaton, 8 Troop, 42 Field Squadron, 28 Engineer Regiment, said:
"Sapper Walker has a young daughter, Lilly-Faith, who was never far from his mind. He would often speak about her with everyone. I only knew Richie for a short time, but he has left a lasting impression on me and will never be forgotten."
39-year-old Danish Army Oversergent (Warrant Officer) René Brink Jakobsen was killed late Wednesday 2nd January 2013 when a bomb exploded while he was on a foot patrol in the Upper Gereshk Valley in Helmand province.
WO Jakobsen, a member of an elite Danish Special Forces Ranger unit had been in the Army for several years, according to a statement from the Danish Army.
He leaves his wife and three children.
20-year-old US Army Pfc. Markie T. Sims was killed on 29th December 2012 when an insurgent bomb exploded beside the vehicle he was in. The incident happened during a patrol at Panjwal.
Pfc. Sims, from Citra, Florida, was serving with the Washington-based 38th Engineer Company, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
More information to follow.
23-year-old US Army Sergeant Enrique Mondragon, serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Bamberg, Germany, was killed in action on 24th December 2012.
Sgt. Mondragon was on a foot patrol when his unit was attacked by enemy forces with small arms fire at Baraki Barak, Afghanistan.
More information to follow.
37-year-old US Army Staff Sgt. Nelson D. Trent, from Austin, Texas, was killed from the blast of a bomb at Kandahar on 13th December 2012.
Staff Sgt. Trent served with the Fort Worth, Texas-based 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
On Thursday, a Taliban suicide bomber killed an American soldier and two Afghan civilians outside Kandahar Airport. It has not been confirmed if Staff Sgt. Trent was the casualty of that attack.
More information to follow.
25-year-old US Army Staff Sgt. Wesley R. Williams, from Ohio, died on 10th December 2012 of injuries sustained from a bomb blast in Kandahar.
Staff Sgt. Williams joined the Army in July 2005 and qualified as a Paratrooper later that year. In 2006 he joined 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, based in Germany.
In 2009, he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, the same unit he served with when he was killed.
He previously served in Iraq - from September 2009 to August 2010 - and deployed to Afghanistan as a Squad Leader in November this year.
His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal (2), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, and the Iraq Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, among others.
28-year-old US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, from Pennsylvania, was killed during a mission to rescue kidnapped American doctor, Dilip Joseph near Kabul on 8th December 2012.
PO Checque was a member of the US Navy's Special Warfare Development Group, more commonly known as SEAL Team Six, the unit involved in the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. It has not been reported if he was part of the bin Laden mission.
He enlisted in the Navy in October 2002 and commenced training with the Navy's Special Warfare unit in April 2003. The 10-year veteran had previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
US Army Captain Aaron R. Blanchard, serving with the 2nd Aviation Battalion, was one of two American soldiers killed on 23rd April 2013 in Pul-e-Alam.
