“Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.”
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. Jason M. Weaver, 22, of Anaheim, Calif., died March 3 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Spc. Jason M. Weaver
“Jason was more than a friend; he was family, a brother and a hero,” said Spc. Brian Gabel, military police officer, assigned to assigned to 170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, currently attached to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Spc. Gabel was speaking of his comrade in arms, Spc. Jason Weaver, who was killed when his unit was attacked using an improvised explosive device (IED), on March 3rd, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
Spc. Weaver was assigned to the 170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, currently attached to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, out of Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Washington, just south of Seattle.
He wanted to save the lives of his men, so “Jason took the responsibility of being the ‘point man’ for our foot-patrols,” said Gabel. “He knew it was a dangerous job, but that’s the kind of guy he was; the kind who wanted to lead the way for his team and be there to protect them if they were in danger.”
His commander, Capt. Ethan A. Olberding, commander, Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division , remembers “Jason’s dedication to duty far surpassed those identified in Army standards. He simply set an example for others to follow, through selfless service and devotion to mission accomplishment. We will remember Sgt. Weaver for these qualities as we strive to match those exemplified by him.”
“Jason represented the first line of defense for his patrol by volunteering to be the point man during his patrols,” said Olberding. “He set the tone on mission through his understanding of the importance of building and maintaining positive relationships with local villagers.”
Spc. Weaver is survived by his mother, Patricia Ann Weaver, and his father, Kevin Lee Weaver, and many other friends and loved ones.
Sadly, I wasn't able to find information about his civilian life, but I would expect, given the man he was, that it was exemplary.
Helping our troops: If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com. Fisher House provides housing for families of injured troops and veterans who are recovering in hospitals, and Guardian angels for soldierspet assists the animal companions of our deployed military.
When our veterans come back home, they can find support at Welcome Back Veterans. Our recently returned veterans need jobs, and Veterans Green Jobs is now hiring for positions and filling training sessions. VGJ corps retrains veterans as leaders in forest and resource conservation, green construction, and energy efficient upgrades of homes in rural areas. Encourage a Veteran, and see if you can help out.
About the IGTNT series: I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect, and remember the fallen, and to remind us that each casualty has family and friends who received the terrible news that their loved one has died at war.
Diaries about the fallen usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories. The US Department of Defense news releases are found at defense gov/releases. Icasualties lists the names of those killed, and shows the number of wounded. Published AP photos of the returning war fatalities are found on the Dover AFB page. Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries in the series which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, Spam Nunn, JeNoCo, Janos Nation, True Blue Majority, Proud Mom and Grandma, Sandy on Signal, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Ms Wings, maggiejean, racheltracks, ccasas, JaxDem, and me, CalNM. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for our fallen brothers and sisters.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.