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.
---
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.
---
Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin
A 24-year Army veteran from Laramie died Wednesday in Afghanistan
from wounds he received in a suicide bomb attack, the Department of
Defense announced Thursday.
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.
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
