DOD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
They died Aug. 8, in Sarkowi, in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when they encountered an insurgent who detonated a suicide vest. These soldiers were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Killed were:
Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy, 35, of West Point, N.Y., and
Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin, 45, of Laramie, Wyo.
For more information related to this release, media may contact the Fort Carson public affairs office at 719-526-7525 and 719-526-5500.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
They died Aug. 8, in Sarkowi, in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when they encountered an insurgent who detonated a suicide vest. These soldiers were assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Killed were:
Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy, 35, of West Point, N.Y., and
Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin, 45, of Laramie, Wyo.
For more information related to this release, media may contact the Fort Carson public affairs office at 719-526-7525 and 719-526-5500.
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Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy
The family of a decorated Army officer from New City is in mourning
after receiving news that their loved one was killed by a suicide bomber
in Afghanistan.
Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy was serving in the
U.S. Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on Wednesday when the
bomber detonated a suicide vest in Sarkowi, located in the Kunar
province of the war-torn nation, said officials in the U.S. Department
of Defense.Kennedy, 35, was killed alongside Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin, 45, of Laramie, Wyo. Both men had been assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Worth, Colo., said Capt. Anthony Hoefler, a spokesman for the DOD.
Kennedy, who grew up in New City and attended Clarkstown schools in addition to Don Bosco Preparatory School in Ramsey, N.J., and the Salisbury Preparatory School in Connecticut, entered into the Army on May 27, 2000, after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Between February 2003 and February 2004 and again from August 2005 through August 2006, he was deployed in Iraq. His most recent deployment, his only one to Afghanistan, came on July 18, Hoefler said.
Kennedy had been recognized a number of times as a serviceman, earning dozens of awards and service medals. Among them are the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation and the Valorous Unit Award. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart posthumously, Hoefler said.
Reached at her home in Crested Butte, Colo., Kennedy’s aunt Eileen Kennedy Hughes, said he leaves behind a wife, Kami, and two twin children, a boy and a girl under age 2.
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Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin
Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin, 45, was one of two soldiers who died of wounds suffered when an insurgent detonated a suicide vest in Sarkowi, Kunar Province, the DOD said in a news release.
Griffin had been deployed to Afghanistan since March 13. It was his first deployment in the country after having served three tours in Iraq. He had also been deployed to Kuwait and the Balkans during his Army career.
Griffin was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, according to information provided by Fort Carson.
CSM Kevin J. Griffin hails from Riverton, Wyoming and enlisted in the army in 1988. He attended OSUT training at Fort Knox, Kentucky as a 19K Armor Crewman. He has held positions as an M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank Gunner, Tank Commander, Section Sergeant, Recruiter, Platoon Sergeant, Squadron Master Gunner, First Sergeant, Senior Military Instructor, Operations Sergeant Major, and Squadron Command Sergeant Major. His previous assignments include 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas, Kansas City Recruiting Battalion with duty in Springfield, Missouri, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson Colorado, 2nd Infantry Division, Republic of South Korea, 3rd ACR, Fort Carson, Colorado, University of Missouri, Columbia Missouri, and 2nd infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington.
His military education includes: PLDC, BNCOC, Army Recruiter Course, ANCOC, M1A1 Master Gunner Course, First Sergeant Course, and the Air Force Senior Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. CSM Griffin is currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice from Excelsior College.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (3OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (2 OLC), Army Commendation Medal w/Valor (1 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (4 OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (7 OLC), Good Conduct Medal 7th Award, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asian Service Medal (3 Service Stars), Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development ribbon (numeral 4), Army Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Liberation Medal Kuwait, NATO Medal, the Gold Army Recruiting Badge, and Combat Action Badge.
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1 comments:
God bless these men and their families - let us never forget their sacrifice.
Lee Ann Newton
CEO Uncle Sam's Heroes
www.unclesamsheroes.com
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