DOD Announces Casualties 11-12-Jan-10 and Vietnam War MIA is identified

[IndianaGreen]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 017-10
January 11, 2010
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DOD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. 1st Class Jason O. B. Hickman, 35, of Kingsport, Tenn., died Jan. 7 at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered earlier that day at Combat Outpost Bowri Tana, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. He was assigned to Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13226

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 018-10
January 11, 2010
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DOD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. The initial press release had an incorrect name due to a clerical error. However, the correct family was notified by Marine Corps officials.

Lance Cpl. Mark D. Juarez, 23, of San Antonio, Texas, died Jan. 9 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13229

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 019-10
January 11, 2010
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DOD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert, 20, of Fort Atkinson, Wis., died Jan. 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13228

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 023-10
January 12, 2010
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DOD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pfc. Michael R. Jarrett, 20, of North Platte, Neb., died Jan. 6 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, Illesheim, Germany.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13232

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 022-10
January 12, 2010
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Air Force Pilot Missing In Action From Vietnam War Is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial.

Air Force Maj. Russell C. Goodman of Salt Lake City, Utah, will be honored this week at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., home of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbird demonstration team. At the time of his loss, Goodman was assigned to the Thunderbirds and was flying with the U.S. Navy on an exchange program. He will be buried in Alaska at a date determined by his family.

On Feb. 20, 1967, Goodman and Navy Lt. Gary L. Thornton took off in their F-4B Phantom from the USS Enterprise for a bombing mission against a railroad yard in Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam. They were struck by enemy antiaircraft fire and their plane exploded. Thornton was able to eject at just 250 feet altitude, but Goodman did not escape. Thornton survived and was held captive until his release in 1973.

Search and rescue attempts were curtailed because of heavy anti-aircraft and automatic weapons fire in the area of the crash.

Between October 1993 and March 2008, joint U.S.-Vietnamese teams led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) investigated the crash site twice and conducted two excavations, recovering human remains and pilot equipment. The aircraft debris recovered correlates with the type of aircraft the men were flying.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched two of his maternal relatives -- in the identification of Goodman’s remains.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13231

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I hope this somehow brings some closure to their poor families.

[democrank]

2. Rest in peace.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

[IndianaGreen]

3. Local news coverage of Sgt. 1st Class Jason O. B. Hickman

Sgt. 1st Class Jason O. B. Hickman, 35, of Kingsport

Car bomb kills Fort Richardson paratrooper in Afghanistan

Anchorage Daily News / adn.com

Published: January 11th, 2010 10:48 PM
Last Modified: January 12th, 2010 10:54 AM

A Fort Richardson soldier has died in Afghanistan after his combat post was hit by a vehicle carrying an explosive, post officials said.

Sgt. 1st Class Jason O.B. Hickman, 35, of Kingsport, Tenn., was a combat engineer. He was the first U.S. Army Alaska soldier to die this year. Fort Rich spokesmen said Hickman was wounded Thursday at Combat Outpost Bowri Tana, Afghanistan. The base was attacked Jan. 7 by insurgents firing small arms as well as the vehicle with the bomb. He died later that night en route to Forward Operating Base Salerno, the Army said.

In a statement issued Monday evening, Gov. Sean Parnell said Hickman's service to his country will be remembered.

"Sgt. 1st Class Hickman was a noble soldier, and his death is a terrible loss," Parnell said. "His honorable service to our country will always be remembered. I encourage all Alaskans to join Sandy and me in keeping his family and fellow soldiers in their thoughts and prayers." Hickman joined the Army in April 1999 and had served as an engineer at Fort Bragg, N.C., and in a recruiting battalion in Wisconsin. He had also served in Iraq before joining the 4th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Richardson in May 2008. The brigade deployed to Afghanistan in February and March 2009.

http://www.adn.com/news/military/story/1088675.html

[IndianaGreen]

4. Local news coverage of Lance Cpl. Mark D. Juarez,

Mark David Juarez, 23,who grew up in the Beacon Hill area of San Antonio, was killed Saturday in Afghanistan

Marine Killed In Afghanistan

Mark David Juarez Was Holy Cross High School Graduate

POSTED: Monday, January 11, 2010
UPDATED: 9:31 am CST January 11, 2010

SAN ANTONIO -- A 23-year-old Marine from San Antonio was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday.

Relatives of Lance Cpl. Mark David Juarez said Sunday that they didn't have a lot of information about his death.

Toby Flores, an uncle of the 2005 Holy Cross High School graduate, said that Juarez loved his country as much as his family.

"Mark David didn't die without a cause. He died serving his country," Flores said. "He loved his job. He was already planning on relisting. He had already decided that."

Juarez was remembered for always having a smile, having a kind heart and his committment to family and friends.

Sara Ortiz, an aunt of Juarez, still carries the last text message she received from him.

"'Goodbye everyone. I'll write soon. Take care and I'll see everyone when I get back,'" Ortiz read from her cell phone while sobbing.

Juarez leaves behind a 1-year-old son.

http://www.ksat.com/news/22204771/detail.html

Flores said her 23-year-old grandson always wanted to serve his country. After he graduated from Holy Cross High School he waited a few years to enlist. And even though he had only been a marine for a little over two years, he told her he couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Lance Corporal Juarez leaves behind his grandmother, parents and brother, and a son who's almost 2-years-old that he never met. Grandma says he was planning to spend a lot of time with him when he returned from Afghanistan.

VIDEO at link:

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Tearful-reaction-from-grandmother-of-San-Antonio/qAmA9i-XGUu26DcdwL9-Hw.cspx

[IndianaGreen]

5. Local news coverage of Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert

Friends: Ft. Atkinson marine enjoyed playing trombone; positive person

Posted: Jan 11, 2010 5:34 PM EST

FORT ATKINSON (WKOW) -- A small community mourns a great loss, after a young marine from Fort Atkinson dies in Afghanistan.

20-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Jacob Meinert was killed Sunday after a roadside bomb went off near his vehicle.

The news of his death comes just a week after the community welcomed home members of the 32nd brigade based in Fort Atkinson. This, is a turn no one expected.

Jacob Teed played in the marching band with Jacob Meinert. He says, "We were like brothers -- we got along just great and everything."

Teed says Meinert was a pleasant person, and had just learned about his death when 27 News stopped to talk with him

Teed says, "I just got the news a couple hours ago, I'm really devastated. I just feel really bad about it."

Jeff Zaspel was Meinert's principal at Fort Atkinson High School.

Zaspel says, "He was a really good young man, just a nice guy. Positive, and upbeat. Just a really really nice guy."

20-year-old Jacob Meinert joined the Marines shortly after graduating from high school in 2007, where his principal says he was involved in the chess club and was most passionate about playing the trombone.

Zaspel says, "He was involved in a lot of music here, he put a lot of time and effort into that, and thoroughly enjoyed playing his trombone in jazz band."

http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11804194

[IndianaGreen]

6. Local news coverage of Pfc. Michael R. Jarrett

It is unfortunate I couldn't find any local news on PFC Jarrett. All I have is a photo of his remains being returned to Dover AFB. PFC Jarrett had a family and loved ones. I can only convey my condolences to them.

RIP


Michael R. Jarrett

Added by The Associated Press on January 8, 2010 at 6:10 AM

An Army carry team stands carries a transfer case containing the remains of Pfc. Michael R. Jarrett Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Jarrett, of North Platte, Neb., died while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. (AP Photo/ Steve Ruark)

http://photos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2010/01/michael_r_jarrett.html

[amborin]

7. more on the billions in costs here:

"NORTHHAMPTON, Mass - January 11 - Congress has appropriated an additional $136.8 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the 2010 fiscal year. National Priorities Project estimates that for this fiscal year, $64.5 billion is directed to Iraq and $72.3 billion to Afghanistan.

Bills that included war-related funding were the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892) passed on October 28, 2009; the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 3288) passed on December 16, 2009; and the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 3326) passed on December 19, 2009.



These new appropriations bring total war-related spending for Iraq to $747.3 billion and for Afghanistan to $299 billion, with total war costs of $1.05 trillion<1>.

National Priorities Project (NPP) updated its Cost of War counters to reflect the new totals and to show the local costs of these wars to states and many cities. NPP's trade-off tool allows you to explore what services could be obtained for your community with the same amount of money that Congress has appropriated for war spending.

These current year appropriations do not include funds to support the “surge” of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan proposed by the Obama administration on December 1, 2009. Conservative estimates suggest that it will cost approximately $30 billion to fund this surge. Supplemental appropriations for this funding are expected later this year. ...."

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/01/11-12

[IndianaGreen]

8. North Platte soldier dies serving country (Pfc. Michael Jarrett)

North Platte soldier dies serving country

By the Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 3:45 pm

A North Platte man died while serving in Balad, Iraq, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Pfc. Michael Jarrett, 20, died Jan. 6, the result of injuries sustained during a noncombat related incident.

The incident remains under investigation.

Jarrett was assigned to the U.S. Army's 2nd Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, which is based in Illesheim, Germany, according to the Department of Defense.

As of Tuesday, Jan. 12, 58 U.S. service members with Nebraska connections have died in Afghanistan or Iraq since the beginning of military operations following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, according to the Department of Defense and family members. Two military-employed civilians who had Nebraska connections also were killed in Iraq.

http://www.journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/article_03d7f81e-ffc4-11de-b672-001cc4c002e0.html