U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

As of Friday, March 25, 2011, at least 4,441 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to iCasualties.org.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 32,049 U.S. service members have been wounded as of Feb. 28, 2011, according to iCasualties.org.

U.S. Troop Casualties in Iraq

Latest identifications:

Air Force Senior Airmen Michael J. Hinkle II, 24, Corona, Calif., died March 16, 2011 due to a non-combat incident in Southwest Asia. He was assigned to the 28th Communications Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

Army Cpl. Brandon S. Hocking, 24, Seattle, Wash., died March 21, 2011 in Samarra, Iraq, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 87th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

As of Friday, March 25, 2011, at least 1,513 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to iCasualties.org.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 10,468 U.S. service members have been wounded as of Feb. 28, 2011, according to iCasualties.org.

Latest identifications:

Army Pfc. Andrew M. Harper, 19, Maidsville, W. Va., died March 11, 2011 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

Marine Cpl. Ian M. Muller, 22, Danville, Vt., died March 11, 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Daehan Park, 36, Watertown, Conn., died March 12, 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Army Pfc. Arturo E. Rodriguez, 19, Bellflower, Calif., died March 12, 2011 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army Sgt. Travis M. Tompkins, 31, Lawton, Okla., died March 16, 2011 in Logar province, Afghanistan,of injuries sustained on March 15, when enemy forces attacked his unit with a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Meis, 20, Bennett, Colo., died March 17, 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Master Sgt. Jamal H. Bowers, 41, Raleigh, N.C., died March 18, 2011 at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, as a result of a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 6th Battalion, 4th Military Information Support Group, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Pfc. Rudy A. Acosta, 19, Canyon Country, Calif.,died March 19, 2011 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot with small-arms fire by an individual from a military security group. The incident is under investigation. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Calvary Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

Army Staff Sgt. Mecolus C. McDaniel, 33, of Fort Hood, Texas, died March 19, 2011 in Khost province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky.

Army Cpl. Donald R. Mickler Jr., 29, Bucyrus, Ohio, died March 19, 2011 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot with small-arms fire by an individual from a military security group. The incident is under investigation. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Calvary Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

Marine Staff Sgt. James M. Malachowski, 25, Westminster, Md., died March 20, 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Navy Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Vincent A. Filpi III, 41, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., died March 22, 2011 as the result of a non-combat incident. Petty Officer 1st Class Filpi was assigned to USS Enterprise as an aviation ordnanceman. The Enterprise was deployed in the Arabian Sea in the Fifth Fleet area of responsibility, conducting operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Army Staff Sgt. Joshua S. Gire, 28, Chillicothe, Ohio, died March 22, 2011 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany.

Army Pfc. Michael C. Mahr, 26, Homosassa, Fla., died March 22, 2011 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany.

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Related report

Afghan Security Contractor Accused of Killing U.S. Soldiers

By Courtney Kube
Producer

March 21, 2011

A man hired to provide security at a military base in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, attacked a group of soldiers over the weekend, killing two and wounding four others, NBC News has learned.

The man, named Shir Ahmad, worked for Tundra Security Group and had been hired March 9 to provide security at Forward Operating Base Frontenac in Argandab Valley. Ten days later, on Saturday, he allegedly walked up to a group of soldiers who were cleaning their weapons before a combat patrol and opened fire with an AK-47.

Three other U.S. soldiers responded to the gunshots and returned fire and killed Ahmad, but not before he shot six soldiers, officials told NBC News.

Two of the soldiers, 29-year-old Cpl. Donald R. Mickler Jr. of Bucyrus, Ohio, and 19-year-old Pfc. Rudy A. Acosta, of Canyon Country, Calif., were killed.

The soldiers were all assigned to the 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment out of Vilseck, Germany. …

The slayings bring to nine the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed by rogue Afghan security force members, whether uniformed or private security contractors, in the past two months.

Tundra Security is an Afghan-owned security company that provides physical security services to local and foreign government organizations throughout Afghanistan, according to the company’s website. Tundra SCA is a sister company of Tundra Strategies and is licensed to operate as an armed security provider by the Afghan Ministry of Interior. …

Full story

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — March 25, 2010

 Michele Bachmann and Violent Extremism

Video

Rep. Giffords target of harassment, threats (MSNBC “The Daily Rundown,” March 25, 2010) — Reports of death threats, vandalism, and harassment by Tea Party activists have Democrats on edge as they prepare to head home for their spring recess. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., one of the Democratic leaders targeted, discusses, making reference to Sarah Palin’s target list, which has “the crosshairs of a gunsight” over her district. A few hours after she voted for the House health care bill, someone either kicked in or shot out a glass door and a side window at her congressional office in Tucson, leaving her “shaken and worried.” (04:54)

One year ago today, I reported that unrest over sweeping federal health care legislation had turned to vandalism and threats, with bricks hurled through congressional Democrats’ windows, a propane line cut at the home of a congressman’s brother, and menacing phone messages left for lawmakers who supported the bill. In that context, I noted that U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s longstanding pattern of incendiary rhetoric — such as calling on citizens to be “armed and dangerous” — was particularly disturbing, considering its potential for proliferating violent extremism and inciting acts of domestic terrorism in a time of festering economic uncertainty.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — March 25, 2009

Iraqi kids sit outside their home in the Hurriyah neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, March 18, 2009. Eighteen months after the tide turned in Baghdad, only a small number of Iraqis who were displaced by the sectarian violence of 2006 and 2007 are coming back to their homes. (Photo credit: Dusan Vranic / AP)

Baghdad Ethnic Cleansing Near Complete

Two years ago today, on March 25, 2009, I reported that Baghdad had been much calmer since sectarian violence peaked in late 2006 and the first half of 2007, but that the calm was achieved in part because the city had become ethnically divided, with Shiites predominating and Sunnis largely having fled.