U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

As of Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, at least 4,344 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 31,495 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department’s weekly tally.

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U.S. Troop Casualties in Iraq

Latest identifications:

Air Force 1st Lt. Joseph D. Helton, 24, Monroe Ga., died Sept. 8, 2009 near Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive devise. He was assigned to the 6th Security Forces Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

Army Spc. Thomas F. Lyons, 20, Fernley, Nev., died Sept. 8, 2009 in Baji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an explosive device in Tikrit. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion, U.S. Army, Alaska, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Army Spc. Zachary T. Myers, 21, Delaware, Ohio, died Sept. 8, 2009 in Baji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an explosive device in Tikrit. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion, U.S. Army, Alaska, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Army Staff Sgt. Shannon M. Smith, 31, Marion, Ohio, died Sept. 8, 2009 in Baji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an explosive device in Tikrit. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion, U.S. Army, Alaska, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Army Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class Duane A. “Tony” Thornsbury, 30, Bridgeport, W. Va., died Sept. 12, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a vehicle rollover. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Fort Carson, Colo.

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

As of Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, at least 756 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department.

Latest identifications:

Marine Capt. Joshua S. Meadows, 30, Bastrop, Texas, died Sept. 5, 2009 in Koshan, Afghanistan, while supporting combat operations in Farah province. He was a UH-1N Huey pilot assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Army Sgt. Youvert Loney, 28, Pohnpei, Micronesia, died September 5, 2009 in Asadabad, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle using small arms and recoilless rifle fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Edwin W. “Wayne” Johnson Jr., 31, Columbus, Ga., died Sept. 8, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Marine 1st Lt. Michael E. Johnson, 25, Virginia Beach, Va., died Sept. 8, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 7th Communications Battalion, 3rd Marine Headquarters Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Aaron M. Kenefick, 30, Roswell, Ga., died Sept. 8, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James R. Layton, 22, Riverbank, Calif., died Sept. 8, 2009 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, while supporting combat operations. He was assigned to an embedded training team with Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan.

Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Fowlkes, 20, Gaffney, S.C., died Sept. 10, 2009 from wounds sustained Sept. 3 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army 1st Lt. Tyler E. Parten, 24, Jonesboro, Ark., died Sept. 10, 2009 in in Glehazi District, Konar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Army Pfc. Matthew M. Martinek, 20, DeKalb, Ill., died Sept. 11, 2009 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Sept. 4 when enemy attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device followed by a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Army Staff Sgt. Nekl B. Allen, 29, Rochester N.Y., died Sept. 12, 2009 in Shahr District, Wardak province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Bryan D. Berky, 25, Melrose, Fla., died Sept. 12, 2009 near Bala Baluk, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained from enemy fire while supporting combat operations. He was assigned to the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

Army Cpl. Daniel L. Cox, 23, Parsons, Kan., died Sept. 12, 2009 in Meydan Shahr district, Wardak province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

Army Sgt. Tyler A. Juden, 23, Winfield, Kan., died Sept. 12, 2009 in Turan, Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

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AFGHANISTAN UPDATE

Admiral: More Troops Needed for Afghan War

Video

U.S. commanders seek troop increase (NBC Nightly News, Sept. 15, 2009) — The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, told Congress Tuesday that turning the tide in Afghanistan will take a lot more time and more American troops on the ground. NBC’s Brian Williams reports. (00:29)

September 15, 2009

WASHINGTON — More American troops likely will be needed to win the war in Afghanistan, the top U.S. military officer told skeptical Democrats on Tuesday as he cited a need to prove U.S. commitment in the battle-ravaged region.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that a proper effort to counter the Taliban insurgency correctly would “probably means more forces.”

Mullen spoke during a hearing on his nomination for a second term as the president’s senior military adviser.

The influential chairman of the panel, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., used the session to underscore his opposition to additional forces, at least until the United States takes bolder action to expand Afghanistan’s own armed forces. …

Levin’s Republican counterpart, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said committing too few forces to the war would invite a rerun of mistakes the U.S. made in Iraq. “I’ve seen that movie before,” McCain said. …

Mullen has been sounding increasingly glum about the prospects for the war, which will enter its ninth year this fall. On Tuesday he said the war would continue to deteriorate without a renewed U.S. commitment, and he said Gen. McChrystal found conditions worse than he had expected when he took the job this summer. …

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IRAQ UPDATE

Baghdad Green Zone Attacked During Biden Trip

Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Baghdad unannounced on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009. Biden wants to keep up pressure on Iraq’s leaders to reach compromises on thorny issues as U.S. combat troops prepare to go home. (Photo credit: Ross Colvin / Reuters)

September 15, 2009

BAGHDAD — Four mortar shells landed in the Green Zone as Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq Tuesday on a previously unannounced mission to help the country resolve its differences ahead of America’s military withdrawal.

The shells were heard as they were fired from across the river on the east bank of the Tigris and at least one explosion was audible. There was no immediate word on any casualties or damage in the Green Zone or in any other areas of the capital. …

Biden said after a meeting with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill that he was in Iraq to help “resolve outstanding political issues” so that “when we leave we have a more stable Iraq.” …

Biden, who oversees Iraq policy for the Obama administration, made his last visit to the country on July 4 to spend the U.S. Independence Day with the troops. During that trip, he also met with his son, Beau, who is an Army captain serving in Iraq. …

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9/16/09 Update

Reuters reports that militants pounded the Green Zone with rockets and mortars shortly after Vice President Joe Biden flew in for talks with Iraqi politicians on reconciliation. A mortar landed on an apartment block, killing two Iraqis and wounding five, police said. Two others landed near the U.S. embassy, but there were no further reports of casualties. A press briefing with U.S. ambassador Chris Hill and U.S. military commander General Ray Odierno was repeatedly interrupted by nearby explosions.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — September 15, 2008

A boy looks at a destroyed vehicle after a car bomb attack in central Baghdad’s Karrada district on Monday, Sept. 15, 2008. (Photo credit: Mohammed Jalil / EPA)

After the Primary Election: Day 6

One year ago today, on the sixth day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in line with my focus on national security, I reported on a mass-casualty car bombing in Iraq and announced three upcoming events at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., with a focus on foreign policy and international affairs.