Army names two paratroopers killed in Afghanistan
Michael Isaiah Nance and Brandon Kreischer have each been awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
Two U.S. soldiers who were killed in an apparent insider attack in Afghanistan were identified by the Pentagon on Monday.
The Department of Defense said in a statement that 20-year-old Pfc. Brandon Jay Kreischer of Stryker, Ohio, and 24-year-old Spc. Michael Isaiah Nance of Chicago died "as a result of wounds sustained in a combat related incident" on Monday in Tarin Kowt, located in the southern part of Afghanistan.
"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," Col. Arthur Sellers, Commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said in a statement. "Our focus is now providing their loved ones with every available resource to help them in this most difficult time."
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Both soldiers were assigned to the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Nance joined the Army in January 2017, and completed Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. before being assigned to 1-505th PIR as an automatic rifleman, according to the Pentagon. He is survived by his father in Chicago and mother in Glenwood, Illinois.
The Defense Department said 20-year-old Pfc. Brandon Jay Kreischer of Stryker, Ohio, and 24-year-old Spc. Michael Isaiah Nance of Chicago were killed in Afghanistan on Monday. (82nd Airborne Division)
The 24-year-old's awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Basic Parachutist Badge.
The Pentagon said Kreischer joined the Army in June 2018 and completed Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. before being assigned to 1-505th PIR as a rifleman. He is survived by his wife in Fayetteville, N.C.
"His awards and 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," the Pentagon said.
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On Monday, a U.S. official told Fox News that an Afghan soldier killed the two Americans in southern Afghanistan. Pentagon spokesperson Jessica R. Maxwell said the incident is under investigation.
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The deaths marked the 11th and 12th U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan this year -- a number nearly equal to the 13 U.S. troops killed all of last year, according to the Department of Defense. In 2010 there were over 100,000 U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan and 437 soldiers were killed in combat.
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.