A single rocket-propelled grenade killed 38 people this morning in the village of July Zarin (34° 1' 29", 68° 47' 12"), Tangi Valley, Sayedabad District, Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

Saturday:  Eight Afghan commandos died earlier today.  In addition, the crewmen of the Chinook helicopter, Air Force combat controllers, and interpreter, a war dog and his handler and 17 Navy Seals were lost.  When the enemy strikes a lucky blow, those of us who stand ready to react steel ourselves for what is to come.  For me, that means I will ride a motorcycle to places where I will hold an American flag as mourners pass.  In two days, the DoD press releases will tell me where those places will probably be.  It is pathetically little, but it is what I can do.

Monday evening:  It is now three days since the crash.  It occured at 0300 in Afghanistan Saturday, local time.  That is 1730 Friday in Chicago.  The DoD rule is that family is informed immediately (and in person) but that the DoD "news release" is not issued for another 24 hours.  Newspapers, websites and the PGR react to those releases because they are the first definitive identification of KIAs.  So the ID of these 30 is overdue.

Probably the DoD wishes to announce all 30 in a single release because the Special Ops community is so small.  Identification of some of the names would strongly suggest who the others are -- so they haven't released any yet. Still, why weren't all 30 families notified in the first 48 hours?  Matt Dobson, a skillful Internet sleuth, reports that remains will reach Dover tomorrow still unidentified.  Well, this is what we know:

      1 the helicopter was sent to reinforce elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment, and if those guys need reinforcement, you know it's a fight,

      2 it crashed in the middle of a battle,

      3 the battle continued long after the crash,

      4 the Chinook requires a great deal of fuel,

      5 and they weren't going to refuel at July Zarin.

So it seems all 30 will be closed-casket funerals.  Let us pray they all died on impact.

And then, at last, Thursday morning we learn the names:

Lt. Cmdr. Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.

Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W.Va.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Mich.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.

Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah

Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.

Cryptologist Technician Petty Officer 1st Class Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minn.

Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo.

Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan.

Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb.

Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash.

Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan.

Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla.

Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif.

Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pa.

back to ALL MISSIONS