I Got The News Today (IGTNT), 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.
The Department of Defense has announced the deaths of two Special Tactics Airmen who were deployed in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel. They were
Capt. Matthew D. Roland
Staff Sgt. Forrest B. Sibley
Capt. Matthew D. Roland
Capt. Matthew D. Roland, 27, of Lexington, Kentucky, was a special tactics officer at the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron. A 2010 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he was a team leader who supervised real-world combat preparedness training of a 35-member team. He deployed three times in his five years of service to multiple locations around the world.
Capt. Roland is survived by his parents, retired Air Force Col. Mark Roland and Barbara Roland, and his sister, Erica.
Staff Sgt. Forrest B. Sibley
Staff Sgt. Forrest B. Sibley, 31, of Pensacola, Florida, was a combat controller with the 21st Special Tactics Squadron based at Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina. He deployed four times to sensitive locations around the world in his nearly seven years of service, earning four Bronze Stars, including one with a “V” device indicating it was earned with valor under fire.
Staff Sgt. Sibley is survived by his parents.
Capt. Roland and Staff Sgt. Sibley served in units that coordinate airstrikes and integrate with Navy SEALs, Green Berets, and other U.S. Special Operations troops. Both were military qualified static line jumpers, free fall jumpers, and combat scuba divers. They were also qualified in joint terminal attack control.
They died on August 26, 2015 near Camp Antonik, Afghanistan, when two individuals wearing Afghan National Defense and Security Forces uniforms opened fire on them.
The 24th Special Operations Wing commander, Col. Wolfe Davidson, said of Capt. Roland and Staff Sgt. Sibley:
The losses of Matt and Forrest are a terrible blow to everyone who knew them. These two combat controllers were incredible warriors who not only volunteered to join our nation's Special Operations Forces, but earned their way to the tip of the spear in defense of our nation.
The risks that these men and their teammates endured in combat and in training are all too well known to the Special Tactics community, but it does not make this great loss any easier to bear. We will honor Matt and Forrest for the legacy they left behind, embrace their families as our own, and thank them eternally for their ultimate sacrifice for American freedom.
The motto for the Combat Controllers is "First There." Combat Controllers “integrate, synchronize, control air and space power to enable global access, precision strike and personnel recovery for special operations,” performing most dangerous missions behind enemy lines to lead the way for other forces to follow.
As reported by the Washington Post, the deaths of Capt. Roland and Staff Sgt. Sibley "provide a glimpse into what U.S. Special Operations troops continue to do even as the U.S. military continues to draw down its troops in Afghanistan. Nearly all conventional coalition troops were pulled from Helmand province last fall, but Special Operations forces continue to operation in the region to advise and assist the Afghans in their fight against the Taliban and other insurgent groups.”
May we always remember Matt and Forrest, who gave their lives in the quest for peace.
1914 IV: The Dead
~ Rupert Brooke ~
These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,
Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.
The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,
And sunset, and the colours of the earth.
These had seen movement, and heard music; known
Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;
Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;
Touched flowers and furs and cheeks. All this is ended.
There are waters blown by changing winds to laughter
And lit by the rich skies, all day. And after,
Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance
And wandering loveliness. He leaves a white
Unbroken glory, a gathered radiance,
A width, a shining peace, under the night.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. 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 DoD news releases are here, and all of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here. These men and women all had people who they loved and who loved them.
Click the IGTNT tags to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by i dunno, Monkeybiz, Noweasels, Blue Jersey Mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, SisTwo, Spam Nunn, True Blue Majority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, Maggie Jean, Jax Dem, The Fat Lady Sings, Ekaterina, Sandy on Signal, and me, Joy of Fishes.
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.
Sources: DOD, 24th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs, Wikipedia,
Washington Post, NBC, Fayetteville Observer, and Facebook