Professional Soldiers ® - Staff Sgt. Jeremy E. Bessa

U.S. Army Special Forces Command Public Affairs Office
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Feb. 22, 2009) — Two Army Special Forces Soldiers were killed Feb. 20 while conducting combat operations in the vicinity of Khordi, Oruzgan province, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Jeremy E. Bessa, 26 and Master Sgt. David L. Hurt, 36, were killed when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while conducting a mounted combat reconnaissance patrol. Bessa died at the scene while Hurt succumbed to his wounds after being medically evacuated to Kandahar Airfield for treatment.

Both Soldiers are assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), here. Hurt was a Special Forces operations sergeant and Bessa was a Special Forces communications sergeant.

Staff Sgt. Jeremy E. Bessa
Hurt, a native of Oak Park, Ill., is survived by his wife Kelly, daughter Avery and son Wyatt, all of Grays Creek, N.C.; mother Bonnie Hurt of Hope Mills, N.C. and father Joe Hurt of Memphis, Tenn.

Bessa, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, is survived by his wife Lindsey and their son Carson, both of Fayetteville, N.C.; parents Ted and Julie Bessa of Whispering Pines, N.C.and brother Christopher L. Bessa, Fort Carson, Colo.

For further information, media should contact the Special Forces Command Public Affairs Office during duty hours at 910-432-4587 or after duty hours at 910-689-6187.

Staff Sgt. Jeremy E. Bessa, 26, was killed by an improvised
explosive device while conducting a mounted combat reconnaissance patrol. He was a Special Forces Operational DetachmentAlpha team communications sergeant assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).
He deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in January 2009 as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. This was his second deployment in support of the Global War on Terror and first deployment to Afghanistan.

Bessa, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, volunteered for military
service and entered the Army in April 2002 as a combat medic
trainee. After basic and advanced individual training and Airborne School he was assigned to the 1 st Battalion, 319 th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 82 nd Airborne
Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., in January 2003. He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom September 2003. Bessa attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection prior to being assigned to John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., in May 2005 for Special Forces training. He earned the coveted “Green Beret” in March 2007 and was assigned to 1st Bn., 3rd SFG(A) at Fort Bragg, N.C., as a Special Forces communications sergeant.

Bessa’s military education includes the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, Basic Airborne Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, Warrior Leaders Course, and Special Forces Qualification Course.
His awards and decorations include the Joint Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Medal,
Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, Combat Medics
Badge and the Special Forces Tab.

Bessa is survived by his wife Lindsey and their son Carson of Fayetteville, N.C.; parents Ted and Julie Bessa of Whispering Pines, N.C and brother Christopher L. Bess, Fort Carson, Colo.

DE OPPRESSO LIBER –

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