U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

As of Friday, Dec. 17, 2010, at least 4,430 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, more than 32,000 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department’s latest available tally.

U.S. Troop Casualties in Iraq

Latest identification:

None

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

As of Friday, Dec. 17, 2010, at least 1,367 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, 9,256 U.S. service members have been wounded as of Nov. 30, 2010, according to iCasualties.org.

Latest identifications:

Marine Staff Sgt. Stacy A. Green, 34, Alexander City, Ala., died Dec. 10, 2010 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army National Guard Spc. Ethan L. Goncalo, 21, Fall Rivers, Mass., died Dec. 11, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a noncombat-related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard, Worcester, Mass.

Army Cpl. Sean M. Collins, 25, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, died Dec. 12, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army Spc. Patrick D. Deans, 22, Orlando, Fla., died Dec. 12, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army Cpl. Willie A. McLawhorn Jr., 23, Conway, N.C., died Dec. 12, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army Spc. Kenneth E. Necochea Jr., 21, San Diego, Calif., died Dec. 12, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army Spc. Derek T. Simonetta, 21, Redwood City, Calif., died Dec. 12, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army Spc. Jorge E. Villacis, 24, Sunrise, Fla., died Dec. 12, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jose A. Hernandez, 19, West Palm Beach, Fla., died Dec. 14, 2010 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army Spc. Sean R. Cutsforth, 22, Radford, Va., died Dec. 15, 2010 in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Marine Staff Sgt. Justin E. Schmalstieg, 28, Pittsburgh, Pa., died Dec. 15, 2010 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

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Afghan Blast That Killed 6 Leveled Building

Dec. 15, 2010

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — A suicide bomb attack that killed six American soldiers in Afghanistan used enough explosives to bring down the building the soldiers were in, their commander said Tuesday.

The soldiers were all from the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky. The division’s commander, Maj. Gen. John Campbell, said during a videoconference from Afghanistan that 11 soldiers were wounded in the Sunday attack but many were able to return to duty.

Campbell said the attack vehicle, which officials in Afghanistan said was a minibus, was loaded with an estimated 1,000 pounds of explosives. He said the vehicle got past an Afghan security point near a joint NATO-Afghan outpost, hit a mud wall and then exploded just outside the building, which collapsed on top of the soldiers. He didn’t describe the type of building they were in.

He said the outpost was in the Zhari district of Kandahar province, the Taliban’s homeland and where the military has launched offensives to clear out insurgents this year.

“This was an area that we had gone through, and they were continuing to clear it. I don’t think they were completely done with the clearance,” he said. The soldiers were living together with Afghans in the outpost, he said.

The Department of Defense named the men as Cpl. Sean M. Collins, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; Cpl. Willie A. McLawhorn Jr., 23, of Conway, N.C.; Spc. Patrick D. Deans, 22, of Orlando, Fla.; Spc. Kenneth E. Necochea Jr., 21, of San Diego, Calif.; Spc. Derek T. Simonetta, 21, of Redwood City, Calif.; and Spc. Jorge E. Villacis, 24, of Sunrise, Fla.

The soldiers were all members of Company B., 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz said Monday several suspects had been arrested in Afghanistan for the bombing.

Campbell stressed that the Afghans at the security point did attempt to stop the vehicle, but he couldn’t provide details as the investigation was continuing. He was also not sure whether the attackers used Afghan security uniforms, a tactic that has been used in other attacks on NATO bases.

Fort Campbell has lost 104 soldiers this year in Afghanistan, where the division has fielded fighters in some of the country’s most violent regions.

“Our sincere condolences go out to families and communities at Fort Campbell and we will keep the families in our thoughts and prayers,” he said.

The attack came less than a month after six Fort Campbell solders were shot and killed by a lone gunman from the Afghan Border Police during a training mission in Nangahar province.

It also came just days ahead of a major White House review of its Afghan strategy, following President Barack Obama’s decision last year to send 30,000 reinforcements in a bid to reverse gains by the Taliban since they were ousted from power in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

Campbell said insurgents were trying to find new ways to get past security and hit coalition forces.

“The insurgents are going to try to take advantage of this seam and sneak people on, so we are really looking hard at force protection and how they inspect people coming on and off combat outposts,” Campbell said.

He said despite the recent high casualties, morale remains high among the division’s soldiers.

“We can’t let the enemy drive a wedge between our forces and the Afghan security forces,” he said.

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Foreign Troop Death Toll for 2010 Hits 700 in Afghanistan

Dec. 18, 2010

KABUL — A member of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan was killed on Sunday, taking the total number of foreign troops killed in 2010 to 700, by far the deadliest year of the war since the Taliban were toppled in 2001. …

A total of 521 foreign troops were killed in 2009, previously the worst year of the war, but operations against the Taliban-led insurgency have increased dramatically over the past 18 months.

About 2,270 foreign troops have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them Americans.

Afghan troops and police have suffered far higher casualties, but exact casualty figures are not provided by the government. Civilian casualties are also at record levels this year.

A war strategy review released by U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday found U.S. and NATO forces were making headway against the Taliban and al Qaeda but serious challenges remain. It said the Taliban’s momentum had been arrested in much of Afghanistan and reversed in some areas.

The Taliban are at their strongest since the Islamist regime were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces after the the regime refused to hand over al Qaeda militants, including Osama bin Laden, after the Sept. 11 al Qaeda attacks on the United States.

The insurgency has spread out of its traditional strongholds in the south and east over the past two years into once peaceful areas of the north and west. …

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Remember Their Sacrifice

Related links

Iraq Casualties

Afghanistan Casualties

Honor the Fallen

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — December 17, 2009

Public Opinion on Afghan Surge

A December 2009 Associated Press-GfK poll showed Americans remain against sending more troops to Afghanistan. (Photo credit: Kevin Frayer / AP file)

One year ago today, I reported that an Associated Press-GfK poll showed a double-digit jump, to 52 percent, in President Barack Obama’s marks for handling the Afghanistan war after he capped a three-month strategy review by announcing a big troop increase, boosting U.S. forces in Afghanistan to 100,000.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — December 17, 2008

Bush Shoe-Hurler Sparks Chaos

Khalil Al-Murshidi / AFP — Getty Images

Two years ago today, on Dec. 17, 2008 I reported that the speaker of Iraq’s parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, announced his resignation after a parliamentary session descended into chaos as lawmakers argued about whether to free a journalist who had thrown his shoes at President George W. Bush; that Vice President Dick Cheney, in an interview with ABC News, attempted to justify the decision to invade Iraq; that Iraq’s Minister of Science and Technology escaped injury in a car bomb explosion that appeared to be an assassination attempt; and that a double-bombing targeting traffic police in Baghdad killed at least 18 people and wounded 52.

A traffic policeman who was wounded in a bomb attack is treated at a Baghdad hospital Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. (Photo credit: Atef Hassan / Reuters)