The U.S Army has announced the death of 42-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Michael S. Duskin, from Orange Park, Florida, who was killed by small arms fire during a patrol in Wardak province, Afghanistan on Tuesday 23rd October.
CWO Duskin served with the 1st Battalion 3rd Special Forces, based at Fort Bragg. This was his fifth deployment in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom, and seventh in support of Overseas Contingency Operations.
His military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal
(2), the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Commendation Medal, the
Army Commendation Medal (3), the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good
Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal (2), the Armed Forces
Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal,
the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service
Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (2),
the Army Service Ribbon, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Combat
Infantryman Badge, the Basic Parachutist Badge, and the Special Forces
Tab. He was posthumously awarded another Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious
Service Medal, and Purple Heart Medal.
He leaves his wife, three children, sister and parents.
Two British soldiers were killed in Helmand on Wednesday 24th October 2012 while on a patrol in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.
The medic, a 25-year-old woman from Northern Ireland, and the Royal Marine from 40 Commando, were attacked by an Afghan who is believed to have been a policeman. He was killed during the attack.
Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Major Laurence Roche, told press: "I am extremely sorry to announce the deaths of a Royal Marine from 40 Commando and a soldier from 3 Medical Regiment serving with Task Force Helmand.
"This is dreadful news for all of us serving in Afghanistan. Our sincere condolences go to their families, friends and colleagues at this time of grief."
The two have since been named as Corporal Channing Day and Corporal David O'Connor
20-year-old US Army Pfc. Shane G. Wilson, from Kuna, Idaho, died on 18th October 2012 while serving in Khost, Afghanistan.
Pfc. Wilson, a 2011 graduate of Kuna High School, served in the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
His family issued the following statement: “Shane died in the service of his country, and this is a very sad day for our family. He wanted to be a military man from a very young age and was proud to be a soldier. Shane was a very humble young man and was indeed one of the best men we’ve ever known. We loved him for so many reasons, including his loyalty, and he knew how to keep a confidence. He was caring and compassionate, and he always placed others before himself. He will be missed by his entire family, including his mother, father, two sisters, grandparents and great-grandparents. We are very proud of him and we do not want him to be forgotten.”
42-year-old Dario N. Lorenzetti, from Fort Worth, Texas, was killed on 13th October 2012 in Kandahar. Mr Lorenzetti, a former US Army officer, had been in Afghanistan for 18 months working for the US State Department.
He was killed when a uniformed member of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) detonated a suicide vest at a district office in Maruf, eastern Kandahar province. The bomb also killed US Army Spc. Brittany Gordon and four Afghan NDS officers.
Mr Lorenzetti, a West Point graduate, commanded a Ranger company in the Army. After leaving the military, he joined the State Department and served in Saudi Arabia, India and Afghanistan.
He is survived by his wife and three daughters.
A Memorial Fund has been set up for his family. If you wish to make a donation to the Fund, you can do so through GoFundMe.
29-year-old US Army Sergeant 1st Class Ryan J. Savard, from Arizona, died on 13th October 2012, after being shot during a patrol in Khanabad District, Konduz province, Afghanistan.
He served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This was his fifth deployment to Afghanistan. He had also served in Iraq.
Sergeant 1st Class Savard joined the Army in 2001. On completion of his initial training, Savard was assigned to Bravo Company, 7th Battalion, 159th Aviation in Gieblstadt, Germany, where he served as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter mechanic for two years.
In June 2004, he graduated from the US Army's Special Warfare Center to become a Special Forces weapons officer.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal (third award), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Purple Heart. His awards and decorations also include the Army Commendation Medal (third award), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (third award), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation, U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal (third award), National Defense Service Ribbon, Kosovo Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star and Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 4 Bronze Service Stars.
He leaves his wife, Kayla, and his parents, Garett and Marie Savard.
26-year-old US Army Sergeant Thomas R. MacPherson, from Long Beach, California, was killed in action on 12th October 2012, while leading an assault on an enemy position in Andar District, Ghazni province, Afghanistan. He was killed by direct fire from enemy forces during the assault.
Sergeant MacPherson served with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. He joined the Army in May 2007. This was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan and he had also previously served one deployment in Iraq.
Lt. Col. Gregory Anderson, Commander of 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, said in a statement: "Sergeant Tom MacPherson lost his life courageously leading his Rangers into a close quarters fight with the enemy." He went on to say that "Tommy MacPherson never backed away from the dangers of combat, and his warrior spirit, personal example and zeal for life continue to inspire all who knew him."
24-year-old US Army Spc. Brittany B. Gordon, from St. Petersburg, Florida, died on 13th October 2012, when a uniformed member of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) detonated a suicide vest at a district office in Maruf, eastern Kandahar province.
The attack occurred when a delegation including U.S. coalition members arrived to deliver furniture to an intelligence office. Spc. Gordon, who served with 572 Military Intelligence Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, was part of the delegation that was attacked.
Spc. Gordon is the daughter of St. Petersburg assistant police chief Cedric Gordon. She graduated from St. Petersburg High School in 2006 and attended the University of Florida before joining the Army in 2010. This was her first combat deployment.
Killed in the same incident was US State Department official Dario N. Lorenzetti.
30-year-old US Army Sergeant Robert J. Billings, from Clarksville, Virginia, was killed on 13th October 2012 in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. He died of injuries received from a bomb blast.
Sergeant Billings served with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
He joined the Army in 2006 and served in Iraq between 2009 and 2010. This was his first deployment to Afghanistan.
49-year-old US Navy Cmdr. Joel Del Mundo Tiu, from Manila, Philippines, died on 12th October 2012 from non-combat related injuries. The cause of death has not yet been released.
Cmdr. Tiu served in the Navy Supply Corps, and was assigned to Naval Forces Central Command in Manama, Bahrain, since January 2011 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He joined the Navy in 1984 and was commissioned as an officer in 1995.
He had previously served aboard six ships.
Prior to deploying to Bahrain, he at the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center-Forward in Norfolk, Virginia. He also served in Saudi Arabia, Germany and Guam during his career.
22-year-old Georgian Army Corporal Mindia Abashidze, a fire group commander with the 32nd Light Infantry Battalion, was “killed today while fulfilling a combat task under the ISAF mission in Afghanistan”, the Georgian Defense Ministry announced on 12th October 2012.
Cpl. Abashidze joined the Army in August 2008 and was on his second deployment to Afghanistan, based in Helmand province.
His death brings to eighteen the total number of Georgian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the country joined the NATO-led operation in November, 2009.
27-year-old US Army Warrant Officer Joseph L. Schiro, from Coral Springs, Florida, was killed in action on 6th October 2012 from gunshot wounds during a dismounted patrol in Chak district, Wardak Province, Afghanistan.
He served with the Fort Bragg-based 1st Special Forces Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).
He joined the Army in June 2004. He served in Iraq in 2006 and was on his fourth Afghanistan deployment when he died.
His military awards include two Bronze Star medals, two Army Commendation medals, two Army Achievement medals and two Army Good Conduct medals. He also received the National Defense Service medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 3 Campaign Stars, the Iraq Campaign Medal with 2 Campaign Stars, the Army Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Parachutist Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Special Forces Tab.
WO Schiro leaves his wife, Diana, and three children as well as his parents Joseph and Holly Schiro, his grandparents, Joseph and Frances Schiro, his mother-in-law, Teresa Troisi, and sister-in-law, Monica Troisi.
Also killed in the same incident was Staff Sergeant Justin C. Marquez
25-year-old US Army Staff Sergeant Justin C. Marquez, from Aberdeen, North Carolina, was shot and killed on 6th October 2012 during a dismounted patrol in Chak district, Wardak Province, Afghanistan. Also killed in the same incident was Warrant Officer Joseph L. Schiro.
Both men served with the Fort Bragg-based 1st Special Forces Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).
SSgt. Marquez joined the Army in January 2009. He graduated from the Army’s Special Forces Qualification Course in February of 2011. This was his first overseas deployment. His military awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terror Medal, the Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces Tab.
He is survived by his father, mother and brother.
31-year-old US Marine Sergeant Camella M. Steedley, from San Diego, California, died in Helmand province, Afghanistan on 3rd October 2012. The cause of her death is currently being investigated.
Sgt. Steedley served with Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, based at Camp Pendleton, California. She was an air operations clerk on her first deployment to Afghanistan.
She leaves her husband, James Steedley (also a Marine), their four children, her parents and other relatives.
33-year-old US Army Sergeant 1st Class Aaron A. Henderson, from Houlton, Maine, died on 2nd October 2012 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, from wounds he suffered when an insurgent bomb exploded on 30th September 2012, in Zombalay Village, Afghanistan.
Sgt. 1st Class Henderson served with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), based at Fort Campbell.
He joined the Army in 2000 and volunteered for the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course, graduating in 2006. During his career he deployed three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.
He leaves his mother, Christine and his brother, Sam. He was predeceased by his father, Dallas, who died of a heart attack in 2010.
29-year-old US Army Sergeant 1st Class Daniel T. Metcalfe, from New York was killed on 29th September 2012 when his unit came under fire from enemy forces at Sayyid Abad, Afghanistan. He served with the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Italy.
Sergeant Metcalfe joined the Army when he was 18 and had served one tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan prior to this deployment. He first joined his unit in Vicenza, Italy, in January 2002 and it was here that he met his Italian wife Vesna. He later became a drill instructor at Fort Benning, Georgia., before returning to Vicenza in 2011.
Sergeant Metcalfe's father said this about his son in an interview with local press: "He was always positive, always the one taking the lead, a little mischievous. The Army took that leadership and put it into proper use. To watch his maturity after he joined the service made me as proud as I could be."
Sergeant Metcalfe leaves his wife Vesna, four children, Kalyn (12), Alexis (6), Edward (3), Nathaniel (1), his parents Tom and Sherri, brother James and sister Debi.
