The Pentagon announced Monday that a U.S. soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday from wounds he received from an improvised explosive device that detonated nearby.
Staff Sgt. Reymund Rarogal Transfiguracion was carrying out combat patrol operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan when the device blew up. The incident is being investigated, Special Forces spokesperson Beth Riordan said in a news release.
Transfiguracion was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in Washington and was deployed in Afghanistan to support Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
According to The News Tribune, the deployment was Transfiguracion’s fourth combat deployment. The outlet said he was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class and awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Meritorious Service Medal.
Transfiguracion is the fifth American combat death in Afghanistan in 2018. The Pentagon has announced American service member deaths in countries around the world this year, including in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Germany.
