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The Idaho Army National Guard's 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team is the largest formation therein and has been reorganized into a Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT). The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team has units located throughout Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. In 1989 it was reorganized into a heavy armor brigade. Often referred to as the Snake River Brigade and formerly known as the 116th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the unit includes about 3,000 citizen-soldiers from Idaho. ~ Source
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Honoring and Remembering:
Spc. Nathan R. Beyers
Spc. Nicholas W. Newby
I Got The News Today (IGTNT) , which began in April of 2004, is one of the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos and 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.
Since 2003 we have suffered the loss of 4471 American lives and a total of 4789 Coalition Forces in Iraq.
Since 2001 we have suffered the loss of 1657 American lives and a total of 2578 Coalition Forces in Afghanistan.
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The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation New Dawn.
They died July 7 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked their convoy using an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to 145th Brigade Support Battalion, 116th Cavalry Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Post Falls, Idaho.
Killed were:
Spc. Nathan R. Beyers, 24, of Littleton, Colo. and
Spc. Nicholas W. Newby, 20, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
~ DoD News Release
Maj. Gen. Gary L. Sayler, commanding general of the Idaho National Guard said:
This is an extremely sad time for the Citizen Soldiers and Citizen Airmen of the Idaho National Guard. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members of these fine Idaho Citizen Soldiers, and we will work to help and support these families with many types of assistance over the coming days, weeks, months and years. ~ Source
Outside the Post Falls Armory the American flag is flying at half-staff. Saturday, guardsmen and guardswomen gathered for a routine unit assembly and some spoke of the loss their unit sustained.
Darren Friesen said of Beyers and Newby:
They took the ultimate sacrifice. They did the job, and they did it very well. You want to remember the good they did, and not the bad thing that happened.
Friesen added that the National Guard is much like a big family, and the soldiers are very close.
The roughly 2,700 soldiers who comprise the 116th CBCT are in the midst of a yearlong deployment to Iraq and are scheduled to return in September.
Idaho National Guard spokesman, Tim Marsano said he spoke with some of the 116th soldiers after the attack.
They're angry, they're sad, but they know they have a mission to complete.
The National Guard offers grief counseling and minister services, Chief William Largen said.
There's a general "open door policy". These men are the epitome of the National Guard, the epitome of the Army, the epitome of what's good about this country.
~ Source
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Spc. Nathan R. Beyers, 24, of Littleton, Colorado
Nathan Beyers enlisted when he was living in Littleton, Colorado, but he moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho a few years ago.
Nathan's wife, Vanessa Beyers released the following statement:
Nathan was proud of his job and serving our country. He died doing something he loved and was such a brave person. We just had our first child, and Nathan had a chance to visit us when he was home on leave in January. I told him I knew he was going to be a wonderful father. We are going to miss him.
Two days before he was killed Beyers posted the following on his facebook wall:
...a normal person has 1,000 wishes. A deployed soldier only has one; to come home safe. I know 97% of you won't post this as your status, but the 3% that do are my friends.
Spc Nathan R. Beyers leaves behind his wife Vanessa Beyers and his daughter, born on Veterans Day, November 11, 2010.
Spc. Nathan R. Beyers will be buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery later this week.
~ Source ~ Source ~ Source ~ Source
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Spc. Nicholas W. Newby, 20, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Nicholas Newby was a 2009 Lake City High School graduate and had attended North Idaho College. He enlisted in the Army and received training as a mechanic, but his current assignment was as a machine gunner.
"Nick's" mother and father released the following statement:
Nick would do anything for anybody who needed his help. He'd stick by his friends and never gave up on anybody. He had a great sense of humor, ever since he was a kid. For instance, once when he saw his pregnant mom drinking orange juice, he said "mom, you're getting orange juice all over the baby!" Nick was intellectually curious and an avid reader. He was also a planner - he researched things, planned out and then followed through with all he said. He was a great musician who played many instruments including guitar, bass guitar, saxophone and drums. Nick loved fishing, camping, road trips, learning to fly as a member of the Civil Air Patrol and wrestling with his brother. He loved thrashing his truck and then fixing it; we recall digging him out of the snow and we all smiled through it. Nick loved his family, and everybody loved him.
Spc. Nicholas W. Newby leaves behind his mother Theresa Hart, father Wayne Newby, brothers Nathan and Ryder and many other family members and friends in the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho area and Connecticut.
~ Source ~ Source
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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, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, Kestrel9000, TheFatLadySings 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.
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.
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POW/MIA: Afghanistan & Iraq
Two U.S. soldiers are currently listed as captured or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown as of December 1, 2009.
Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie 41
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Sgt. Bowe R. Bergdahl 23
Never forgotten - please keep good thoughts and prayers for these two men.
On December 8, 2010 new photos were published of Sgt. Bowe R. Bergdahl in captivity. The article and images can be seen here.
The father of Bowe R. Bergdahl released this video on May 6, 2011 in which he appeals for the release of his son.
The Army promoted Bergdahl to the rank of sergeant effective June 12, 2011. This is his second promotion since he was listed as Missing-Captured on June 30, 2009.
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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.