I Got The News Today (IGTNT), which is 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.
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Major Jonathan D. Walker
Sergeant 1st Class Andrew T. Weathers
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Since 2001 we have lost 2349 American troops in Afghanistan and a total of 3476 American and coalition forces.
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Taps
Day is done
Gone the sun
From the lakes
From the hills
From the sky
All is well
Safely rest
God is nigh
Major Jonathan D. Walker, 44 of Merriam, Kansas
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Maj. Jonathan D. Walker, 44, of Merriam, Kansas, died Oct. 1, in Doha, Qatar, of a non-combat related incident at Camp As Sayliyah. The incident is under investigation.
He was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina. ~ DoD News Release
Jonathan Walker enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2000 and received his commission through the Officer's Candidate School later that same year. In 2008 Major Walker joined the U.S. Army and in 2009 he became a psychological operations officer.
Walker's military record reveals his service in a variety of psychological operations and information support operations at Fort Bragg. Maj. Walker served as commander of "D" Company, 9th Military Information Support Battalion and "D" Company, 3rd Military Information Support Group.
This was Major Walker's 9th deployment, some of his previous commands had been:
Naval flight officer VAQ138; political military (POLMIL) officer deployed to the U.S., Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan
Detachment commander with Bravo Company, 8th Military Information Support Battalion (Airborne) deployed to Qatar and Iraq
Delta Company commander, 9th Military Information Support Battalion (Airborne), in support of CJSOTF-AP
Charlie Company commander, 3rd Military Information Support Battalion (Airborne), in support of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–Afghanistan and JISTF (Special Operations).
The following facebook posts were in response to a
Fayetteville Observer link on Major Walker's death:
MAJ Walker was my OIC during my last deployment in Iraq, he was such a great man. Learning this this past weekend made me so sad.
Major Walker was a great man, Soldier, Leader, and Friend. Rest in Peace Brother.
Major Walker's command at the time of his death was the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), now known as the 4th Military Information Support Group (Airborne), which has a long and distinguished history. It's motto is Verbum Vincet which translates to "The Word Will Conquer" and that motto is evidenced by this quote:
“Truth is the best PSYOP.” — Col. Fred W. Walker, USAF, Director of Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs, USSOCOM
This unit's mission statement reads: “to deploy anywhere in the world on short notice, and plan, develop, and conduct Civil Affairs and Psychological operations in support of Unified Commanders, coalition forces, or other government agencies as directed by the National Command Authority.” Their use and technique is: "Used during peacetime, contingencies, and declared war, military information support operations activities are not forms of force, but are force multipliers that use nonviolent means in often violent environments. Persuading rather than compelling physically, they rely on logic, fear, desire or other mental factors to promote specific emotions, attitudes or behaviors. The ultimate objective of US military information support operations is to convince enemy, neutral, and friendly nations and forces to take action favorable to the United States and its allies."
The unit was activated on Nov. 7, 1967 and is the longest serving psychological warfare unit in the Army. Among their ranks are regional experts with expertise in political, cultural, ethnic and religious subtleties. Their operations, both military and humanitarian, have been conducted in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Grenada, Somalia, Haiti and Panama. Since September 11, 2001 the unit has been heavily engaged in the Global War on Terror in Afghanistan, Iraq, Horn of Africa, the Philippines as well as other areas around the world.
~ Source ~ Source ~ Source
Major Jonathan D. Walker's awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Naval Good Conduct Medal, the Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Naval Sea Service Deployment Ribbon 5th Award, the NATO Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, the Flight Officer Award, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Navy Unit Commendation, and the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation. The Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster was issued posthumously.
Major Jonathan D. Walker is survived by his wife, Kelly Walker; two children, Jacob Walker and Peyton Walker; mother, Pat Doyle; father, Terry Walker (Joanne); and sister, Amy Deitrick (Lance).
~ Source ~ Source ~ Source
Sergeant 1st Class Andrew T. Weathers, 30 of DeRidder, Louisiana
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class Andrew T. Weathers, 30, of DeRidder, Louisiana, died Sept. 30, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, from wounds sustained when the enemy attacked his unit with small arms fire Sept. 28, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. ~ DoD News Release
Andrew Weathers, who was a native of DeRidder, Louisiana, enlisted in the Army in January of 2003 and received his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He next reported to Fort Eustis, Virginia where he received advanced individual training and graduated as a CH-47 Chinook helicopter repairer.
Sgt Weathers was assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell, KY and he deployed to Iraq in 2005 as a crew chief and to Afghanistan in 2008 as a Flight Engineer.
Weathers volunteered for the Special Forces in 2010 and graduated as a medical sergeant. In 2012 Sgt. Weathers was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the 7th Special Forces Group (A) and was then assigned just this year to the group's 2nd Battalion.
Col. Robert Kirila, Deputy Commandaer for the 7th SFG(A) released the following statement:
“From the beginning of his time with 7th Group, Sgt. Weathers was the consummate teammate. As a Special Forces medical sergeant, Weathers was critical to the wellbeing of his team and those he mentored. The group mourns the loss of such a great leader and we will support his family in every way possible.”
The following are comment from an
Army Times facebook posting on the passing of Sgt. Weathers:
I knew him. Went through the course with him. God bless his family
He was a part of my unit too (7th SFG). Much respect and RIP
The US Army Special Forces are considered "Sine Pari" which is Latin for "Without Equal". However, the motto specific to the Green Berets is "De Oppresso Liber" which translates "To Free the Oppressed". It is a lofty mission, but one to which they have lived up to countless times.
The unit can trace it's earliest linage to the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Special Service Force, which was established on 9 July 1942 at Camp William Harrison, Montana to assist in World War II. In 1960 the unit was reorganized and designated as the 7th Special Forces Group.
Today more than ever their brave and daring presence lends to recreations in movies and books as they can be found riding horseback in the mountains of Afghanistan to parachuting into a hot zone to conduct a quick strike on a guerrilla outpost to serving as bodyguards to Eastern European leaders. Their area of responsibility includes:
The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Area of Responsibility (AOR) includes the land mass of LatinAmerica south of Mexico; the waters adjacent to Central America and South America; the Caribbean Sea, its 13 island nations, European and U.S. territories; the Gulf of Mexico; and a portion of the Atlantic Ocean. It encompasses 32 countries (19 in Central and South America and 13 in the Caribbean) and covers about 15.6 million square miles. The region represents about one-sixth of the landmass of the world assigned to regional unified commands. The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) also supports the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
~ Source ~ Source ~ Source
Sergeant 1st Class Andrew T. Weathers' awards and decorations include the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Army Good Conduct Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon with two Oak Leaf Clusters and the NATO Medal. In addition he was the recipient of the Special Forces Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Aviator Badge and the Parachutist Badge.
Sgt. 1st Class Andrew T. Weathers is survived by his father, Michael; his mother, Jere; his brother, Dusten; and his sister, Carrie.
~ Source ~ Source ~ Source
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 in 2004 and now is maintained by Sandy on Signal, i dunno, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, Ekaterin, TheFatLadySings, Joy of Fishes, 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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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.