Two U.S. paratroopers who were killed yesterday in a suspected insider attack in Afghanistan on Monday have been identified, according to a statement from the 82nd Airborne Division.
Spc. Michael Nance of Chicago, Illinois, and Pfc. Brandon Kreischer of Stryker, Ohio, were killed by small arms fire in Kandahar province. Both service members were from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
“These young men were true All Americans and embodied the qualities of selfless service and courage as they answered our nation’s call to deploy to Afghanistan,” said Col. Arthur Sellers, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team. “Our focus is now providing their loved ones with every available resource to help them in this most difficult time.”
Ahmad Sadiq, the Afghan army’s 205th Corps’ spokesman, said an Afghan army soldier opened fire at a base in the Shah Wali Kot district and killed the two soldiers. Their deaths bring the total number of U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan this year to 12, according to the Washington Examiner‘s tracker.
Nance joined the U.S. army in 2017, and his decorated service included being awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Basic Parachutist Badge.
Kreischer enlisted in June 2018, and his decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Basic Parachutist Badge.
“It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the loss of two Paratroopers from the Brigade during combat operations,” unit commander Col. Art Sellers said when confirming the soldiers’ deaths on Monday. “The expertise of every staff member of this brigade and in the 82nd Airborne Division will be utilized to ensure the families of the fallen are taken care of.”
