A roadside bomb killed a US soldier in Helmand, a province in southern Afghanistan that has seen an upsurge in violence in recent weeks.
The bomb also wounded another US soldier and six Afghan soldiers, coalition forces said in a statement on Tuesday. The wounded soldier was in stable condition, the statement said. Read more
An F/A-18 Super Hornet with the Navy’s elite demonstration squadron crashed shortly after take-off Thursday, killing the pilot just days before a weekend air show performance, officials said
A U.S. official told the Associated Press that the pilot was Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. According to his official Blue Angels biography, Kuss joined the elite acrobatics team in 2014 and accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours.
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A Russian Special Forces Commando went viral this week when it was revealed that he called an airstrike on his own position to take out ISIS. The transcript of his final words has now been released.
The Russian officer’s name is Alexander Prokhorenko and below is a transcript of what was said:
Officer: command I am compromised, repeat I am compromised.
Command: please repeat and confirm
Officer: They have spotted me, there are shooting everywhere, i am pinned, request evacuation immediately
Command: evacuation request acknowledged
Officer: please hurry I am low on ammo, they seem to everywhere, I can’t hold them for too long please hurry
Command: Confirmed, hold them off, continue return of fire, go to safe position, air support is monitoring, state coordinates
Officer: gives coordinates which are blurred in the translation
Command: command repeats coordinates which are blurred. Confirm
Officer: confirmed, please hurry I am low on ammo, they are surroundig me, bastards
Command: 12 minutes until evacuation, return to safe line, I repeat return to safe line
Officer: They are close, I am surrounded, this may be the end, tell my family I love them dearly
Command: return to green line, continue return of fire, help is on the way, followed by air support
Officer: negative, I am surrounded, they are so many of these bastards
Command: 10 minutes, return to green line
Officer: I can’t they have surrounded me and are closing in, please hurry
Command: move to green line, repeat move to green line
Officer: They are outside, conduct the airstrike now please hurry, this is the end, tell my family I love them and i died fighting for my motherland.
Command: Negative return to green line
Officer: I cant command, I am surrounded, they are outside, I don’t want them to take me and parade me, conduct the airstrike, they will make a mockery of me and this uniform. I want to die with dignity and take all these bastards with me. please my last wish, conduct the airstrike, they will kill me either way.
Command: please confirm your request
Officer: They out outside, this is the end commander, thank you, tell my family and my country I love them. Tell them I was brave and I fought until I could no longer. Please take care of my family, avenge my death, good bye commander, tell my family I love them
Command: No response, orders the airstrike
Russian or not – this man is a hero. Getting the enemy in closer before sacrificing himself for the country is noble indeed.
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#Stop22ADay
Please pass this along so this Soldier can be added to The Vietnam Memorial Wall. Thank you.
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Ernie Pyle: The GI’s reporter
We’ve reprinted “The Death of Captain Waskow,” a memorable column written by Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle, who was covering American forces during their liberation of Italy in World War II.
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Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Whelan
The feared loss of these 11 service members offers a painful reminder that sacrifice in the name of service never stops.
The seven special operations Marines and four Louisiana Army National Guard crew members feared dead after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed off Florida’s panhandle Mar. 10 are a reminder of the constant risk service members face at home and abroad, during training and in combat.
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Marine Cpl. Jorge Villarreal, a 22-year-old motor transportation mechanic from San Antonio, was photographed Sept. 29 while he leaned over the edge of a compound in Kajaki, Afghanistan.
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Major Keith A Butler was laid to rest in Arlington national cemetery after being KIA in Afghanistan 5 May 2014. Butler served 37 years in the Army and Marine Corps, and had 44 deployments under his belt. This man was a giant among men. He was one.
Rest easy Doc
🍀
“Never fear your enemy but always respect them.” — Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone
Seventy years ago, on February 19, Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone was killed in action during the battle of Iwo Jima and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for heroism — making him the first and only enlisted Marine to receive the Medal of Honor as well as the Navy Cross during World War II.
A veteran and a friend asked if I could post a tribute to her son, kp. He was killed in the line of duty one year ago today.
Rest easy, warrior. You are loved and greatly missed. Read more
#SEALOfHonor ……… Honoring Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan W. Gifford who selflessly sacrificed his life ON (July 29, 2012) in Afghanistan for our great Country. Please help me honor him so that he is not forgotten.
Whilst I wait for the train. 🚂 Have a beautiful day
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. – Mark Twain
#HonorTheFallen
Bradley Smith – January 2010 – While returning fire, Smith ran through lethal crossfire to save his comrades. He also rescued the disoriented and blinded Airman from the water and recovered the mortally wounded Soldier. After administering first aid, Smith continued returning fire and coordinated close air support. While trying to recover the remains of another mortally wounded Soldier, a second improvised explosive device detonated killing him instantly.
The Air Force museum (Troy) has an exhibit featuring Sr. Airman Bradley Smith, that focuses on the unique duties and dangers of Air Force forward air controllers, the men who risk their lives directing air strikes against enemy ground targets. In early Sept. 2012, just a few days before what would have been Bradley Smith’s 27th birthday, the Air Force presented his widow and parents the Silver Star for valor during a ceremony at Tri-Township Park in Troy.
Rest Easy, Warrior
30, of New Castle, Colo., died Dec. 1 when his F-16 aircraft crashed near a coalition air base in the Middle East. He was assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.
Air Force identifies pilot killed in Middle East crash
By Brian Everstine, Staff Writer
The Air Force has identified Capt. William Dubois as the F-16 pilot killed earlier this week in a crash in the Middle East.
Dubois, 30, died when his aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff while heading out on a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the military’s battle against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
Dubois, of New Castle, Colorado, was assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.
The F-16 crashed about 11 p.m. Sunday at an unnamed base in the region. U.S. Central Command would not say if the jet was headed to Iraq or Syria. While the F-16 was on a combat mission, the pilot encountered a problem and crashed in a “non combat related incident.”
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
The mishap is the second fatal F-16 crash of a 77th Fighter Squadron pilot on a combat mission in the past two years. On April 2, 2013, Capt. James Steel was killed when his jet crashed into a mountain near Bagram Field in Afghanistan following a close air support mission.
U.S. and coalition jets have ramped up their fight against IS targets and conducted 28 airstrikes between Nov. 28 and Dec. 1 in both Iraq and Syria using attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft.
Air Force Capt. William H. Dubois – Honor the Fallen – MilitaryTimes.com.
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ARMIN ROSEN DEC. 1, 2014
An American Air Force pilot was killed on November 30 when his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed shortly after takeoff from a base in the Middle East, according to a report from from US Central Command.
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Maiden on the Midway 
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