At least 939 US military deaths in Afghan region since 2001
By APFriday, March 19, 2010
US military deaths in Afghan region at 939
As of Friday, March 19, 2010, at least 939 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count.
The AP count is three more than the Defense Department’s tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.
At least 730 military personnel died in the Afghan region as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.
Outside the Afghan region, the department reports 76 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, eight were the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen.
The Defense Department also counts two military civilian deaths.
The latest identifications reported by the military:
— Gunnery Sgt. Robert L. Gilbert II, 28, of Richfield, Ohio; died Tuesday of wounds suffered on March 8 while supporting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan; assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
— Cpl. Jonathan D. Porto, 26, of Largo, Fla.; died March 14 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to 1st Battalion 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
— Sgt. 1st Class Glen J. Whetten, 31, of Mesa, Ariz.; died March 12 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device; assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
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