I Got The News Today (IGTNT) which began in April of 2004 making it one of the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos, provides members of this community a venue to pay their respects to those who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The IGTNT title is a reminder that nearly every day the family of an active duty service member receives the terrible news that their beloved has died.
Honoring and Remembering:
Maj. Philip D. Ambard
Maj. David L. Brodeur
Maj. Raymond G. Estelle II
Capt. Nathan J. Nylander
Capt. Charles A. Ransom
This is a two part series of IGTNT tonight. This diary is Part Two of the coverage from the shooting incident at the Kabul Airport on April 27th. Part One can be found here.
These diaries were written by the IGTNT team and are a special group project. Part I was written by SisTwo, Maggie Jean and Sandy on Signal. Part II was written by CalNM and me, JaxDem
The list includes eight Air Force Officers and one contractor. Please take a moment to reflect on their service and sacrifice.
Part 1 of tonight's series honors: Lt. Col. Frank Bright, Major Jeffrey Ausborn, Master Sgt. Tara Brown and James McLaughlin.
Part 2 honors: Maj. Philip Ambard, Maj. David Brodeur, Maj. Raymond Estelle II, Capt. Nathan Nylander and Capt. Charles A. Ransom.
DoD Announces Air Force Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of eight airmen who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
They died April 27, at the Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from gunfire. The incident is under investigation.
Killed were:
Maj. Philip D. Ambard, 44, of Edmonds, Wash. He was assigned to the 460th Space Communications Squadron, Buckley Air Force Base, Colo. For more information media may contact the Air Force Academy public affairs office at 719-333-7731.
Maj. Jeffrey O. Ausborn, 41, of Gadsden, Ala. He was assigned to the 99th Flying Training Squadron, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. For more information media may contact the 502nd Air Base Wing public affairs office at 210-652-4410.
Maj. David L. Brodeur, 34, of Auburn, Mass. He was assigned to the 11th Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. For more information media may contact the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson public affairs office at 907-552-2341.
Master Sgt. Tara R. Brown, 33, of Deltona, Fla. She was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Joint Base Andrews, Md. For more information media may contact the Air Force Office of Special Investigations public affairs office at 571-305-8010.
Lt. Col. Frank D. Bryant Jr., 37, of Knoxville, Tenn. He was assigned to the 56th Operations Group, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. For more information media may contact the Luke Air Force Base public affairs office at 623-856-6011.
Maj. Raymond G. Estelle II, 40, of New Haven, Conn. He was assigned to Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. For more information media may contact the Headquarters Air Combat Command public affairs office at 757-764-5007.
Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, 35, of Hockley, Texas. He was assigned to the 25th Operational Weather Squadron, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. For more information media may contact the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base public affairs office at 520-228-3406.
Capt. Charles A. Ransom, 31, of Midlothian, Va. He was assigned to the 83rd Network Operations Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. For more information media may contact the 24th Air Force public affairs office at 210-977-5796.
Also killed in the same episode was a civilian contractor James McLaughlin Jr., 55, of Santa Rosa, CA.
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Maj. Philip D. Ambard, 44, of Edmonds, Washington
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Philip Ambard came to America when he was 12.
Ambard began his military service as an enlisted airmen and zoomed through the ranks during a 25-year career.
As a fluent speaker of both French and Spanish, Major Ambard served as an instructor at the Air Force Academy in both languages and was consistently rated as one of the top faculty members.
Emotions are raw at the Air Force Academy as staff and cadets mourn the loss of one of their own.
Raised in Edmonds, Wash., he was a sergeant when he went through a grueling school to become an officer in 2000. He got his bachelor’s degree in night school and went on to get a master’s from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and a doctorate at the University of Denver.
A father of five, he has put three of his children into the Air Force Academy and one into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Three have graduated and one is a sophomore. The fifth child was a top high school scholar in the Pikes Peak region and attends University of Denver.
Ambard never lost his admiration for his adopted land. When he leaned English, he sought perfection and spoke without an accent. He told his children to be grateful for the gifts that come with American citizenship.
Major Ambard's daughter, Air Force Lt. Emily Short said:
He pushed all of us. His word for us was, "Don’t do it the hard way, the way I did".
I will be coming back to the academy and following in my dad’s footsteps. The footprints are gigantic
His wife of 23-years, Linda, is a physical education teacher at Stetson Elementary School and a noted marathon runner.
Whatever we did we did together. Whenever one of us coached the other one coached right beside him.
Earning an officer’s rank, all the education, the dedication to the Air Force was all about building a better life for his family.
He worked so many hours, but when he came home he was home. He was a dad, he was a husband, he was a friend.
Linda Ambard said she will follow through with her plan to run 10 marathons this year, completing her goal of running a 26.2 mile race in each of the 50 states.
Each stride will be for Phil, she said.
It’s the whispered prayers of my heart and my feet.
The students at Stetson knew the major. When his wife was off running marathons, Phil Ambard took over her whistle. Stetson Principal Mike Pickering said Ambard was his wife’s favorite substitute teacher.
Although Major Ambard was a busy man, he found time for Boy Scouts, church and other community activities. Co-workers said it seemed like he’d gained the ability to live without sleep.
“I will always remember Phil for a phrase he would say anytime I asked him to do anything — ‘Consider it done, sir’,” said Col. Dan Uribe, Ambard’s boss in the academy’s foreign languages department.
Major Philip D. Ambard leaves behind his wife, Linda and five children.
Funeral services are pending.
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Maj. David L. Brodeur, 34, of Auburn, Massachusetts
David Brodeur was a 1994 graduate of Auburn High School and a 1999 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.
Major Brodeur, an F-16 pilot, served as executive officer for the 11th Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage and had been in Afghanistan for thee months.
The town of Auburn yesterday mourned its first war casualty since Vietnam, as the family of an Air Force pilot gunned down by an Afghan officer made the sad trek south to meet his body on its return to American soil.
David’s father, Lawrence Brodeur who served as town moderator before moving recently said:
David was a wonderful and caring father, husband, son and brother who was committed to the service of his country. Words are inadequate to express how much we miss him.
Gerald Delongchamp, who worked at Auburn High School for 40 years and was David’s student council advisor said he was in shock and disbelief upon hearing of Brodeur’s death. He said David was respected by students, faculty and staff and was a strong three-sport athlete and the president of student council.
He loved being a pilot and being in the Air Force. This was his goal. This was a dream and he certainly accomplished it.
He was always a great kid. I don't remember him having a problem with anyone from high school. I don't remember him saying a bad word about anyone.
Father-in-law retired Air Force Master Sgt Frank Williams said:
They have a 7-year old daughter and a 4-year old son who couldn’t wait till Daddy got home to teach him to play ball. Dave was there to help, he was a pilot over there to help.
State Rep. Paul Frost (R-Auburn) said lawmakers were planning a moment of silence to honor Major Brodeur.
You never want to hear about this, especially from your area. Its sad because you know there are a lot of people who did know him personally. The family had deep roots.
Former U.S. Rep. Peter Blute recalled presenting the young Brodeur with an award for his community work while he was in high school. Brodeur was president of the Auburn High School Student Council.
He clearly was one of the best and the brightest. This is a real tragedy.
Major David L. Brodeur leaves behind a wife and two children
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~ Thank you to CalNM for writing this tribute to Major Estelle
Maj. Raymond G. Estelle II, 40, of New Haven, Connecticut
Major Estelle worked as a cyberspace operations officer assigned to Air Combat Command headquarters, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. The major had just left his family on Easter for his tour, and arrived in Afghanistan the day before he was killed.
Originally from Connecticut, Major Raymond Estelle, Jr was a 20-year Air Force veteran and looking forward to his upcoming retirement. Ray had lived with his wife, daughter and newborn son in York County, Virginia.
Neighbors remember the officer as outgoing and friendly, and frequently working in his yard. A friend described Estelle as "a mountain of a man" and a physical fitness fanatic.
Friends and fellow airmen described Maj. Estelle as "an amazing officer" and "a man among men." They said he had a caring nature, and was considered a moral leader.
"He would be there when somebody needed help," a friend and retired Air Force Officer shared.
In his home state of Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy ordered that flags be flown at half staff in Major Estelle's memory, and released this statement:
"Connecticut has lost another brave and honorable service member, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Major Estelle," the governor said in a statement. "We are also thinking of those in Major Estelle's unit, and all of our men and women in uniform serving this country at this difficult time. We wish them all a safe and speedy return home to their families."
Among those Major Estelle leaves behind are his wife, and two children, and his friends from Langley.
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Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, 35, of Hockley, Texas
Captain Nathan J. Nylander, who grew up in Fairbury, Illinois became an airman in 1994 and served at first as a satellite and radio data analyst and later trained as a weather expert.
After having served in Korea, at the Pentagon in Virginia and Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, Nylander attended and was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Officer Training School.
Prior to this deployment, Capt Nylander was serving as a flight commander with the 25th Operational Weather Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.
At the time of his death, Captain Nylander was on a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan as a member of the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group with NATO Air Training Command.
Col. John Cherrey, 355th Fighter Wing commander released this statement:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones of the Airmen who paid the ultimate sacrifice protecting our freedoms. Today’s tragic event hit close to home as one of our own was among the casualties. We will continue to support the Airman’s family as they deal with this loss.
Nylander’s sister, Tara Norris, told the (Bloomington, Ill.) Pantagraph :
This is like a nightmare and we all just want to wake up. I have an awesome picture of him that I believe was taken in Afghanistan with an eagle and the wings, with the saying ‘All gave some and some gave all.’ He truly did just that.
Nathan's brother, Chris Bivens of Louisville, Kentucky said:
He had many of the attributes that our grandfather, Wendell (Nylander) also had. He was a World War II veteran and I know that Nathan really looked up to him and really respected him for his years in the service. He died in 1994, but I know that he always wanted to make his grandfather proud, and there is no question that he certainly did that.
Captain Nathan J. Nylander is survived by his wife, Miriam Nylander, two sons and one daughter in Tucson, Arizona.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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~ Thank you to CalNM for writing this tribute to Captain Ransom
Capt. Charles A. Ransom, 31, of Midlothian, Virginia
Capt. Ransom was a trainer and computer specialist assisting Afghan forces. He was assigned to the 83rd Network Operations Squadron, which is stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.
Charles "Charlie" Ransom was a native Virginian, and an avid Dallas Cowboys fan who enjoyed working on his truck and tackling home improvement projects. Charlie graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 2001, where he was a computer science major, library assistant, and excellent student.
Former VMI classmates and instructors remembered their friend Charlie as small in stature, but a giant when it came to student leadership. His classmates elected him to serve on the General Committee as vice president of the Class of 2001. Ransom also served in leadership roles as a cadet corporal, platoon sergeant, and Rat Challenge corporal.
On graduation, Ransom was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force, and later promoted to captain.
His commanders at Langley described Capt. Ransom as "truly an American airman" and "a critical part of this wing's operations for several years who was a leader within the 83rd Network Operations Squadron."
Captain Ransom was selected for promotion to the rank of major at the time of his death.
Twelve other VMI alumni and one former faculty member have died by hostile actions since Sept. 11, 2001.
VMI's Class of 2001 issued the following statement regarding Ransom’s death:
“The class of 2001 mourns the loss of our Brother Rat and Vice President, Charles Ransom. Charles will be remembered for his loyal support to his Brother Rats as well as his reliable friendship. During a speech to the class after Breakout in 1998, Charles promised he would be a fighter for all of us. That he was. Charles continued that fight for his country as an officer in the US Air Force and died serving in harm’s way on our behalf. The great love of our class swells for Charles and his family. You will be so greatly missed, Brother Rat.”
Among those Captain Ransom leaves behind are his family, and friends from VMI and Langley.
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About the IGTNT series:
"I Got the News Today" is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our US troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, noweasels, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, racheltracks, kestrel9000 and me, JaxDem. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the US Department of Defense will usually be diarized two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each person more fully, but still in a timely manner.
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Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.