Hero Stories for December 2009

CPL Keith Eric Essary, US Army, Enduring Freedom In honor of CPL Keith Eric Essary. We love you and miss you so much! We will never forget! Shannon Ess

Staff Sgt. Dennis J. Hansen, 31, of Panama City, Florida, died December 7, 2009, at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit on December 3 with an improvised explosive device in Logar province, Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Hansen was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York. </d

In a project designed to honor the customs and traditions of the marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq, Soldiers learned how to construct a "mudhif" meeting place on Contingency Operating Base Add

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - During 2009, troops from the 286th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion supported the first Afghan build-up by transporting equipment, supplies and building materials to numerous forward operating bases. Although planning to redeploy by January, they show no signs of stopping. An element of Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan, the 286th CSSB runs regular convoys to FOB Leatherneck, Helmand province, in support of the U.S. Marines and westward expansion. With...

In a joint message to senior Army leaders on Dec. 2, Secretary of the Army John McHugh and Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr. stated that the Afghanistan troop increase will not affect plans underway to restore balan

What better way to spend a Friday in Baghdad than to cut out of work a little early and catch a rock concert? More than a 1,000 Servicemembers couldn't think of one as they packed an open field on a chilly Baghdad day Dec. 4, to watch the 2009 Tour for the Troops at Sather Air Base. Pop newcomer Jessie James, comedian Carlos Mencia and rebel rocker Kid Rock took part in the event sponsored by the Air Force Reserve.

Sgt. Elijah J. Rao, 26, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, died December 5, 2009, in Nuristan, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Sgt. Rao was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. </d

The Wisconsin-based 467th Combat Stress Control Detachment, hit hard in the Nov. 5 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, has begun its deployment to Afghanistan. More than 40 members of the unit, nearly a quarter of whose members were killed or injured in that attack, departed by plane Friday. Army officials said three new members of the unit, among nine added to replace those killed and injured in the attack, remain behind to train or keep track of the unit's equipment. The unit will spend a few we...

SEE A WASHINGTON POST VIDEO HERE. By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 4, 12:57 pm ET FORT HOOD, Texas – More than 40 Army reservists dedicated to counseling troubled soldiers in war zones deployed to Afghanistan on Friday, a month after a shooting spree at Fort Hood left nearly a fourth of their unit dead or seriously wounded. The soldiers from the Wisconsin-based 467th Medical Detachment arrived at a Fort Hood chapel before dawn. Minutes later, led by a deploying soldier carr...

Unit that lost three members in Fort Hood shooting deploys to Afghanistan 'No one is going to stop us from completing our mission.' By Jeremy Schwartz AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Saturday, December 05, 2009 Less than a month after losing three of its members to the worst mass shooting on an American military base, the tiny 467th Medical Detachment — made up of fewer than 50 mental health professionals — boarded a plane for Afghanistan in the chilly, predawn hours Friday. The Madison, Wis.-based ...