A U.S. Service Member Was Killed By An IED In Afghanistan Today

BBC — A US service member has been killed in Afghanistan, the first combat death there since January, officials said.

The service member was killed by improvised explosive device (IED) while on patrol near the city of Lashkar Gar in Helmand Province.

A second US service member and six Afghan soldiers were also injured in the operation.

US officials have not released the service member’s name pending notification of family.

“We are deeply saddened by this loss, but remain committed to helping our Afghan partners provide a brighter future for themselves and their children,” said General John W Nicholson, commander of US and NATO forces in the country.

The patrol triggered the IED while the service member was “conducting Train, Advise, Assist activities with Afghan counterparts” in the provincial capital, according to a US Forces Afghanistan statement.

The wounded service member was in stable condition, officials said.

Awful, devastating news. As much as I hate hearing about and writing about these, they do serve as an important reminder of what our military service members face on a daily basis. While we carry out our generally meaningless lives, usually bitching about temperature and TV shows, they risk theirs in a relentless effort to defend the freedom with which we get to live ours. Heroes in the truest sense of the word.

Although the U.S. ended major combat operations in Afghanistan in 2014, over 8,000 troops remain there to “train, advise and assist local Afghan police.” It’s mostly an effort to prevent, as much as possible, what happened with ISIS in Iraq & Syria from happening with the Taliban & ISIS in Afghanistan. A noble cause that that region needs, and one that comes with obvious risk.

PS — Thank you to our Barstool heroes: Chaps, for being a hero, and Portnoy, a hero for hiring a hero. If you haven’t read it, here’s Chap’s story about the day he got shot. Exhilarating read.