View Full Version : U.S. Troops killed in Niger
prayers out
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/10/04/us-forces-ambushed-in-niger-officials-say.html
prayers out
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/10/04/us-forces-ambushed-in-niger-officials-say.html
All families of the NOK have been notified... Not sure when the names are going to be released 2x CMF 18 and 1x CRD KIA... TM Leader and Senior Echo were wounded Critical and Stable and currently in Landstuhl, GM...
Dignified Transfer will be in the next coming days!
MTF!!!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/10/04/u-s-troops-take-hostile-fire-in-niger/?utm_term=.c1fdd93154f1
Update from the Washington Post!
MTF!
The Reaper
10-06-2017, 15:02
Names released:
The Army issued a statement Friday identifying the three soldiers earlier reported killed in action as being two Green Berets, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, and a third soldier, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson.
Article also discusses the missing body:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/06/politics/body-recovered-us-niger-ambush/index.html
RIP, brothers.
Thank you for your service, and your sacrifice.
Prayers out.
TR
Rest In Peace, Warriors and thank you for your service and sacrifice!
My sincerest condolences to their families and teammates.
Rest-In-Peace Brave Warriors.
:( Holly
Rest in Peace
11 ABC ------ ABC11.com ------ Copyright ©2017 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Two soldiers who were killed in action in Niger on October 4 will be returning to Fayetteville, according to Jernigan Warren Funeral Home .
Staff Sgt. Bryan Black and Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson will be escorted by motorcades from RDU to the funeral home in Fayetteville on Monday.
Black's family will have a wake for him on Tuesday and it's open to the public. They ask that anyone willing to show their support to come to the service at the Northwood Temple Church, located at 545 Ramsey Street. The service will start at 2:00 p.m.
Black will be laid to rest at the Arlington National Cemetery on October 30.
Johnson's family will have a private wake for the soldier on October 19.
In lieu of flowers, Johnson's family requests that donations be made in his name to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
http://abc11.com/2-soldiers-killed-in-niger-to-return-to-fayetteville/2535472/
Rest in Peace
5 WRAL------WRAL.com ------ Copyright 2017 CNN. All rights reserved.
LYONS, GA. — A Fort Bragg solider who was one of four soldiers killed during an ISIS ambush in Niger, has been laid to rest.
The soldiers were killed earlier this month when 50 ISIS-affiliated fighters attacked them in a remote area of the African nation. Funeral services were held for Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright on Sunday in his Georgia hometown.
“The last words I said to my brother were ‘I love you.” Last words he said to me were ‘I love you,’” Wright’s brother, Will Wright, recalled.
Will Wright last spoke to his younger brother on Sept. 24- Dustin Wright’s 29th birthday.
“Talked about how things were going, the ups and downs. Talked about his girlfriend, talked about his plans when he came home, where he was going and some potential moves in his future,” Will Wright said.
Ten days after that conversation, the future the brothers discussed was taken away.
Dustin Wright, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson and Sgt. David Johnson were the first American troops to die in Niger as the U.S. counter terrorism mission there continues to expand.
“It’s a war zone even if you don’t hear about it on TV,” Will Wright said.
The Wright family is familiar with the harsh reality of war. Their military legacy dates back to 1812.
“To our records, we had not lost a single member until Dustin. That’s 205 years, that’s a good run. So, it’s been great to hear that history and share that history and if once every 205 years this is a price we pay, then that’s what it takes,” Will Wright said.
Dustin Wright’s job in Niger for the 3rs Special Forces was to advise, assist and train local forces, which his brother said suited his personality and passion.
“It didn’t matter if he’d known you for a day or whole life, the man was a servant and he loved people. He found a way for him to serve others, to sacrifice and to love people and do it in some of the worst environments in the world. To his final breath, he was doing that,” Will Wright said.
The lifetime of service was celebrated and mourned when Dustin Wright returned home to Georgia on Saturday.
“I know my brother didn’t want accolades. I know he didn’t need praise and awards or anything else. He did the job not for the president to say ‘good job,’ but he did it because that’s what he loved and that’s what he was born to do,” Will Wright said.
http://www.wral.com/ft-bragg-soldier-killed-in-niger-was-first-known-casualty-in-family-with-205-year-military-legacy-/17019164/
Rest in Peace
10 ABC ------ Local10.com ------ By Andrea Torres - Digital Reporter/Producer -----ABC News Luis Martinez and Elizabeth McLaughlin contributed to this report. ------Copyright 2017 by WPLG Local10.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - U.S. Army Special Forces Sgt. La David Johnson, a father of two who was formerly known by thousands on social media as the "Wheelie King 305," was among the four U.S. soldiers who died this week while fighting jihadists in remote Francophone West Africa, according to the Department of Defense. He was 25.
Johnson, affectionately known as "Tee" at Miami Carol City Senior High School, graduated from ATI Career Training Center. His mother's death shaped him. He was a gym and church regular who believed in hard work. Aside from his love of cycling, his friends also remembered his love of cars and his commitment to being a reliable father and husband. He even tattooed his wife's name on his chest.
The same determination that made him ride his one-wheel bicycle from his home in Miami Gardens to the Walmart where he worked in Pembroke Pines years later took him to score high on U.S. Army tests. He pushed himself and was assigned to a 3rd Special Forces Group, a Green Beret unit. He was a special operations soldier, but not a Green Beret.
"My brother stood for something," Angela Ghent, his half-sister, wrote. "He fought for this country and that's how he will be remembered."
Johnson, the son of a disciplined waste-collector and football coach who stayed away from alcohol, enlisted in the Army in January 2014. He went from serving as a wheeled-vehicle mechanic to becoming a promising member of the 3rd Special Forces Group, headquartered in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"The Bush Hog formation [his battalion] was made better because of Johnson's faithful service and we are focused on caring for the Johnson family during this difficult period," Lt. Col. David Painter, commander of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group said.
Johnson was shot dead in the West African Republic of Niger, the DOD reported Saturday. He was working in the landlocked country's southwest volatile area of Tongo Tongo. The DOD reported there is an ongoing investigation of the incident, which involved the use of an unarmored truck, lack of air cover and questions about how Johnson was inadvertently left behind in the desert during the evacuation.
According to a U.S. official who talked to CNN, Johnson was leaving a meeting in an unarmored pickup truck Wednesday when enemy fighters targeted him and his team with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. Johnson likely got separated when they all got off the unarmored trucks to run for cover and return fire.
During the firefight, U.S. troops called in French fighter jets. According to Reuters' sources the French responded but circled overhead without firing, because the enemy was too close to the U.S.-Nigerien patrol. Reuters also reported the incident upset French officials over the U.S. military's lack of contingency plans.
"The threats at the time were deemed to be unlikely, so there was no overhead armed air cover during the engagement," U.S. Army Col. Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for Africa Command said during a news conference.
Johnson was able to activate his military beacon, and the military was able to track him for a bit before the signal faded. Cheadle said U.S., French and Nigerien troops searched for him, but by the time the Nigerien troops found him on Friday, he was dead.
"We had everything, jets, rotary wings, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), various platforms, human intelligence, signals intelligence -- you name it," Cheadle said. "There was a full-court press by all of the DOD, the Nigerien government, the Department of State and the French to help us recover our lost one."
The DOD believes Dondou Chefou, a lieutenant of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, led the jihadists who killed Johnson, Reuters reported. The counter-terrorism team was part of a mission to disrupt an ISIS gold mining "rat line," a black market that represents an important source of funding, a senior U.S. official told NBC News.
"We are resolved and stalwart in our efforts to go after those who attacked," Cheadle said.
Johnson's awards and decorations during his service include the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Army Parachutist Badge, the Army Air Assault Badge, the Driver and Mechanic Badge and the Marksmanship Qualification Badge - Sharpshooter with Rifle.
The DOD first identified the three others dead as Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright. At least five Nigerien were also killed. Officials told CNN that French Super Puma helicopters evacuated the wounded and dead. The DOD said two wounded were taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
The incident is the third U.S. military tragedy in Africa since "Black Hawk Down," a disastrous raid in the Somali capital Mogadishu in 1993. U.S. Navy Seal Kyle Millken, a 38-year-old senior chief petty officer member of SEAL Team 6, died in a raid in Somalia in May.
Gov. Rick Scott issued a statement Saturday afternoon saying he joined Floridians in honoring the lives of Johnson and the other three U.S. soldiers.
"We will never forget their heroic actions," Scott said, "and our hearts break for their families and loved ones."
https://www.local10.com/news/international/miami-gardens-beloved-wheelie-king-dies-while-fighting-jihadists-in-africa?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WPLG_Local_10_%2F_Local10.com
This was on Breitbart: (I can't actually capture the text of his letter; but it can be found on the BB link.)
Former Green Beret’s Post Blasting Leftists for Politicizing Niger Goes Viral
Special Forces veteran Dr. Mike Simpson isn’t impressed by the way the Niger incident is being exploited by liberals like Congresswoman Frederica Wilson as a cheap way of attacking Donald Trump.
Simpson’s thoughts on Niger are attracting a lot of attention on Twitter. Here’s what this ex-Green Beret has to say about his fallen comrades:
Mike Simpson, M.D. @DrMikeSimpson
My Special Forces Brothers died in #Niger
Here are my thoughts:
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/10/24/ex-green-beret-says-what-special-forces-really-think-about-niger-goes-viral-on-twitter/