Army Warrant Officer Travis Tamayo died of a non combat related incident in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on September 16, 2016. WO Tamayo was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve on behalf of the 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion in Fort Gordon, Georgia. According to the Department of Defense press release, the incident is under investigation.
1st Lt Jeffrey Cooper, US Army, died of a non combat related injury in Kuwait on September 10, 2016. 1st Lt Cooper was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve on behalf of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. According to the Department of Defense, the incident is under investigation.
“Cooper was killed in a rollover vehicle accident while traveling from Camp Buehring in Kuwait to the Ali Al Salem Airfield.” -CBS News
Army SSG Christopher Wilbur, 36, of Granite City, Illinois, died of a non combat related injury in Kandahar, Afghanistan on August 12, 2016. SSG Wilbur was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel on behalf of the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado. SSG Wilbur was in the Army for eleven (11) years and was on his fourth wartime deployment when he died. According to the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation at the time of reporting. The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch reported SSG Wilbur installed drywall before joining the Army in 2005; he served two tours in Iraq and died during his second tour in Afghanistan.
SSG Wilbur was known in Army circles as a friendly leader who instilled discipline in his troops. Wilbur was described as a history buff and avid reader who also enjoyed camping, hiking, rock climbing, snowboarding, fishing, playing chess and rooting for the Cardinals. At the funeral service, those who spoke said Wilbur’s family was most important to him. They described Wilbur and his wife as soulmates who had their own love language; the couple was known to say they shared the same brain. The couple have two children together. The outcome of the investigation and official cause of death are unknown, although a public affairs officer stated once the investigation was concluded, the findings would be shared with SSG Wilbur’s family.
“Lt. Col. Don Korpi chief of public affairs and community relations for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the death investigation is ongoing and a final report has not yet been completed. ‘We can reaffirm that his death appears to be non-combat related and did occur on the airfield,’ he said. ‘Any specific details on his location and his mission on the base other than to say he was stationed and present at the Airfield at the time of his death would not be appropriate.’ Once completed, he said, the findings of the investigation would be shared with Wilbur’s family.” –STL Today (August 25, 2016)
Lt. Col. Flando Jackson, Washington Air National Guard
Air National Guardsman Lt. Col. Flando Jackson died of a non combat related injury at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on August 4, 2016. Lt. Col. Jackson was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve on behalf of the 194th Wing, Camp Murray, Washington National Guard. At the time of the press release, the Department of Defense announced the incident was under investigation. The official cause of death is unknown.
Navy Reservist PO2 Andrew Clement, 38, of Peabody, Massachusetts died of a non-combat related injury on June 21, 2016 while deployed to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. PO2 Clement was an air traffic controller attached to Navy Reserve Unit Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) in Quincy, Massachusetts. He was in a mobilized Navy reserve status when he forward deployed to Africa. PO2 Clement enlisted in the US Navy on January 28, 1997 and served aboard the aircraft carriers Nimitz and Harry S. Truman. At the time of the DoD press release, the incident was under investigation by the military.
Army Pvt. Eddy Raelaurin Gates, 20, whose home of record is listed as Dunn, North Carolina, entered active-duty military service in December 2015 as a motor transport operator and was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas since April 2016. Gates’s awards and decorations include a National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal and Army Service Ribbon.
Learn more from III Corps and Fort Hood Facebook page here.
Mr. Speaker, Texas has been hammered by historic torrential rain and flooding. As the Texas floodwaters rose, 12 soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, were crossing Owl Creek in a 21⁄2-ton Light Medium Tactical Vehicle when it became stuck in the Owl Creek low water crossing.
Suddenly, the vehicle was swept over and sent downstream by fast-moving water. Nine American soldiers drowned in the massive flood waters. Today, we remember them, and here they are: Staff Sergeant Miguel Colon Vazquez, 38, from New York.
The soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division. These American soldiers were volunteers who swore to protect the United States.
They were a cut above the rest and were ready to defend freedom at home and abroad. Their lives were ripped from this world and their families all too soon. We are grateful for them and their families for their service and their sacrifices.
These soldiers are the best of America. Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldiers and their families, who have been devastated by the floods of Texas this spring.
Army Pvt. Tysheena Lynette James, 21, whose home of record is listed as Jersey City, New Jersey, entered active-duty military service in November 2015 as a motor transport operator and was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas since April 2016. James’s awards and decorations include a National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal and Army Service Ribbon.
Learn more from III Corps and Fort Hood Facebook page here.
Mr. Speaker, Texas has been hammered by historic torrential rain and flooding. As the Texas floodwaters rose, 12 soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, were crossing Owl Creek in a 21⁄2-ton Light Medium Tactical Vehicle when it became stuck in the Owl Creek low water crossing.
Suddenly, the vehicle was swept over and sent downstream by fast-moving water. Nine American soldiers drowned in the massive flood waters. Today, we remember them, and here they are: Staff Sergeant Miguel Colon Vazquez, 38, from New York.
The soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division. These American soldiers were volunteers who swore to protect the United States.
They were a cut above the rest and were ready to defend freedom at home and abroad. Their lives were ripped from this world and their families all too soon. We are grateful for them and their families for their service and their sacrifices.
These soldiers are the best of America. Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldiers and their families, who have been devastated by the floods of Texas this spring.
Army Pfc. Zachery Nathaniel Fuller, 23, whose home of record is listed as Palmetto, Florida, entered active-duty military service in November 2015 as a motor transport operator and was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas since April 2016. Fuller’s awards and decorations include a National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.
Learn more from III Corps and Fort Hood Facebook page here.
Mr. Speaker, Texas has been hammered by historic torrential rain and flooding. As the Texas floodwaters rose, 12 soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, were crossing Owl Creek in a 21⁄2-ton Light Medium Tactical Vehicle when it became stuck in the Owl Creek low water crossing.
Suddenly, the vehicle was swept over and sent downstream by fast-moving water. Nine American soldiers drowned in the massive flood waters. Today, we remember them, and here they are: Staff Sergeant Miguel Colon Vazquez, 38, from New York.
The soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division. These American soldiers were volunteers who swore to protect the United States.
They were a cut above the rest and were ready to defend freedom at home and abroad. Their lives were ripped from this world and their families all too soon. We are grateful for them and their families for their service and their sacrifices.
These soldiers are the best of America. Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldiers and their families, who have been devastated by the floods of Texas this spring.
Army Pvt. Isaac Lee Deleon, 19, whose home of record is listed as San Angelo, Texas, entered active-duty military service in November 2015 as a motor transport operator and was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas since April 2016. Deleon’s awards and decorations include a National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Learn more from III Corps and Fort Hood Facebook page here.
Mr. Speaker, Texas has been hammered by historic torrential rain and flooding. As the Texas floodwaters rose, 12 soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, were crossing Owl Creek in a 21⁄2-ton Light Medium Tactical Vehicle when it became stuck in the Owl Creek low water crossing.
Suddenly, the vehicle was swept over and sent downstream by fast-moving water. Nine American soldiers drowned in the massive flood waters. Today, we remember them, and here they are: Staff Sergeant Miguel Colon Vazquez, 38, from New York.
The soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division. These American soldiers were volunteers who swore to protect the United States.
They were a cut above the rest and were ready to defend freedom at home and abroad. Their lives were ripped from this world and their families all too soon. We are grateful for them and their families for their service and their sacrifices.
These soldiers are the best of America. Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldiers and their families, who have been devastated by the floods of Texas this spring.
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 