At least 983 US military deaths in Afghan region since 2001

US military deaths in Afghan region at 983

As of Friday, May 14, 2010, at least 983 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 five more than the Defense Department’s tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

At least 765 military personnel have died in the Afghan region as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.

Outside the Afghan region, the department reports at least 78 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 deaths reported by the military:

— A U.S. service member died Friday in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, according to NATO.

The latest identifications reported by the military:

— Sgt. Joshua D. Desforges, 23, of Ludlow, Mass.; died May 12 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. Donald J. Lamar II, 23, of Fredericksburg, Va.; died May 12 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

— Cpl. Jeffrey W. Johnson, 21, of Tomball, Texas, and Sgt. Kenneth B. May, Jr., 26, of Kilgore, Texas; died May 11 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

— Cpl. Kurt S. Shea, 21, of Frederick, Md.; died May 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

— Spc. Jeremy L. Brown, 20, of McMinnville, Tenn.; died May 9 at Contingency Outpost Zerok, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

— Capt. Kyle A. Comfort, 27, of Jacksonville, Ala.; died May 8 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

— Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Davis, 19, of Perry, Iowa; died May 7 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

— Lance Cpl. Christopher Rangel, 22, of San Antonio, Texas; died May 6 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

— Lance Cpl. Richard R. Penny, 21, of Fayetteville, Ark.; died May 6 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

— Spc. Wade A. Slack, 21, of Waterville, Maine; died May 6 at Jaghatu, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using indirect fire; assigned to the 707th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

On the Net:

www.defenselink.mil/news/

(This version CORRECTS spelling of Johnson’s first name.)