U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

As of Sunday, March 31, 2013, at least 2,193 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, 17,674 U.S. service members have been wounded as of Sept. 30, 2012, according to iCasualties.org.

Latest identifications:

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Larry D. Bunn, 43, Bossier City, La., died March 7, 2013 at an undisclosed base in Southwest Asia of a heart attack. He was assigned to the 307th Maintenance Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Army National Guard Spc. Cody D. Suggs, 22, West Alexandria, Ohio, died March 7, 2013 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, as a result of a noncombat incident. He was assigned to the 1487th Transportation Company, 371st Sustainment Brigade, Ohio National Guard, Piqua, Ohio.

Army Staff Sgt. Steven P. Blass, 27, Estherville, Iowa, died March 11, 2013 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Henderson, 27, Franklin, La., died March 11, 2013 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

Army Capt. Sara M. Knutson, 27, Eldersburg, Md., died March 11, 2013 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash. She was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

Army Green Beret Capt. Andrew M. Pedersen-Keel, 28, South Miami, Fla., died March 11, 2013 in Jalrez District, Afghanistan, of small-arms fire from an Afghan security forces member. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Staff Sgt. Rex L. Schad, 26, Edmond, Okla., died March 11, 2013 in Jalrez District, Afghanistan, of small-arms fire from an Afghan security forces member. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Army Staff Sgt. Marc A. Scialdo, 31, Naples, Fla., died March 11, 2013 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash. He was assigned to the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

Army Spc. Zachary L. Shannon, 21, Dunedin, Fla., died March 11, 2013 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Christian Michael Pike, 31, Peoria, Ariz., died March 13, 2013 in Landstuhl, Germany, as a result of combat-related injuries sustained March 10 while conducting stability operations in Maiwand District, Afghanistan. He was a Chief Cryptologic Technician assigned to Naval Special Warfare Support Activity 1, Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Calif.

Army Spc. David T. Proctor, 26, Greensboro, N.C., died March 13, 2013 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., from injuries sustained during a noncombat incident March 3, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Army Chief Warrant Officer James E. Groves III, 37, Kettering, Ohio, died March 16, 2013 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crash. He was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga. The incident is under investigation.

Army Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class James F. Grissom, 31, Hayward, Calif., died March 21, 2013 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds suffered from small-arms fire March 18 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Army Sgt. Tristan M. Wade, 23, Indianapolis, Ind., died March 22, 2012 in Qarah Bagh District, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 573rd Clearance Company, 2nd Engineer Battalion, White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

Army Sgt. Michael C. Cable, 26, Philpot, Ky., died March 27, 2013 from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked by enemy forces in Shinwar District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Curtis S. Reagan, 43, Summerville, S.C., died March 29, 2013 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from a noncombat-related illness. He was assigned to the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

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Related report

Afghan Teenager Fatally Stabs U.S. Soldier

By Kim Gamel

April 1, 2013

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan teenager fatally stabbed an American soldier in the neck as he played with children in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday, as the U.S. death toll rose sharply last month with an uptick in fighting due to warmer weather. …

Just one U.S. service member was killed in February — a five-year monthly low — but the American death toll climbed to at least 14 last month. …

The attack that killed Sgt. Michael Cable, 26, of Philpot, Ky., last Wednesday occurred after the soldiers had secured an area for a meeting of U.S. and Afghan officials in a province near the volatile border with Pakistan.

But one of two senior U.S. officials who confirmed that Cable had been stabbed by a young man said the assailant was not believed to have been in uniform so it was not being classified as an insider attack.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said the attacker was thought to be about 16 years old. He escaped so his age couldn’t be verified.

Cable’s brother Raymond Johnston, a 42-year-old waiter in Owensboro, Ky., said the Army told the family the basics of what happened and that his brother was stabbed in the neck from behind.

Johnston said his brother, who also did a tour of duty in Iraq, was “prepared before he left for anything that happened” in Afghanistan. …

The Afghan and American dignitaries were attending the swearing-in ceremony of Afghan Local Police in Shinwar district in Nangarhar province, senior district official Zalmai Khan said. Afghan Local Police, or ALP, recruits are drawn from villages and backed by the U.S. military.

The soldier was playing with children outside when the attacker came from behind and stabbed him in the neck with a large knife, Khan said. Other guards nearby didn’t immediately notice what had happened because there was no gunshot, and the assailant was able to flee to neighboring Pakistan, he added.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid identified the attacker as a 16-year-old local man named Khalid. He said Khalid was acting independently when he killed the soldier but had joined the Islamic militant movement since fleeing the scene. …

The killing comes as the U.S. death toll rose to 14 in March, compared with four in the previous two months of the year, partly fueled by the start of the spring fighting season when the Taliban and other insurgents take advantage of improved weather to step up attacks. …

Full report