Tag Archives: Afghanistan

Army Ranger Dies On 14th Deployment

October 26, 2011 vfwpost2713 Leave a comment

An Army Ranger who was on his 14th deployment to a combat zone has been killed in Afghanistan.

Sgt. First Class Kristoffer B. Domeij, 29, was killed Saturday when the assault force he was with triggered a hidden roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province.

Domeij served four deployments in Iraq and another nine stints in Afghanistan. During that time he was awarded two Bronze Stars. His third Bronze Star, earned during his final tour in Afghanistan, will be awarded posthumously, according to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Calling All Stop-lossed Servicemembers…

September 26, 2011 vfwpost2713 Leave a comment

If you have yet to claim your retroactive benefits for being stop-lossed between 9/11/01 and 9/30/09 you now have till Oct 21st 2011 to make your claim of $500/month.

Medal of Honor

Ex-Marine who saved dozens to receive Medal of Honor

September 15, 2011 vfwpost2713 Leave a comment

In 2009, Dakota Meyer made five death-defying forays into a heavy-fire zone in Afghanistan’s Ganjgal Valley to save American and Afghan troops.

On Thursday, he’ll be in a friendly spot — the White House, where he’ll receive the Medal of Honor for his battlefield heroics.

Our veterans need more than applause

September 15, 2011 vfwpost2713 Leave a comment

There are more than 63,000 veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in Washington state, and more coming back all the time. And we need to find ways to connect with them.

You know when you’re on an airplane, and the flight attendant announces there are American service people onboard, and why don’t we all give them a round of thankful applause?

Sam Barrett hates that.

“I just roll my eyes,” said Barrett, 30, a U.S. Army Airborne Ranger who did three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He finished active duty in May 2009, then served in the National Guard until last February.

Barrett doesn’t mean to sound ungrateful.

But while we may think we’re giving veterans a gift, to some it feels like an empty box; and the only thing we may be parting with is our own sense of guilt

The Face of the Next Greatest Generation

August 22, 2011 vfwpost2713 Leave a comment

Eight years ago, after the capture of Saddam Hussein in a spider hole,TIME Magazine named The American Soldier its “Person of the Year.” It was an iconic cover story that put a face on these wars and played a decisive role in getting Americans to separate personal politics from their treatment of our troops.

Former Tacoma soldier killed in Afghanistan crash

August 9, 2011 vfwpost2713 Leave a comment

A former Tacoma, Washington resident was among the U.S. troops killed in the crash of a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan over the weekend, the Kansas City Star reported Monday.

Army Spc. Alexander Bennett, 23, reportedly moved to Overland Park, Kansas after returning from his 2009 deployment to Iraq. He served as a flight mechanic in the Army Reserve’s Chinook unit.

The 30 U.S. troops and eight Afghans who died in the crash in eastern Afghanistan Saturday were on a mission targeting a Taliban leader. An insurgent with a rocket-propelled grenade reportedly fired on the chopper and shot it down, the U.S.-led coalition said Monday.

It was deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war.

by KING 5 News and Associated Press

Depoyment, Health

Downrange deployments linked to untreatable lung ailment

July 21, 2011 vfwpost2713 Leave a comment

Some soldiers have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with an untreatable lung disease that interferes with their ability to do physical exercise, possibly caused by inhaling toxic material, doctors report.

Sgt. First Class Leroy Petry to receive Medal of Honor tomorrow.

July 11, 2011 vfwpost2713 Leave a comment

An Army Ranger from New Mexico who lost his hand throwing a grenade away from two fellow soldiers in Afghanistan will become one of only two living service members awarded the elite Medal of Honor in the current round of conflicts, Army officials said Thursday.

Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, who will receive the nation’s highest award for valor from President Obama on July 12, continued to bark orders at his junior enlistees even as he was being bandaged at the scene of a 45-minute fight with insurgents, members of his unit told reporters.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/10/nation/la-na-medal-of-honor-20110610

Here is his profile on the Army’s MOH site.

http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/petry/