Posts
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Extortion 17 Remembered
Extortion 17
It was the summer of 2011, and we were in the middle of our CPO Initiation Season at Great Lakes. It was a Saturday morning like today when we got news of the chopper that was shot down, representing the greatest loss of life in a single event in the war in Afghanistan.
My deployment days were long over when the news came. I didn’t know anyone of the heros personally, but I felt connected to them because of their service in the Navy; and because some of them had been selected for Chief Petty Officer at the same time.
These men were no stranger to combat, it was their role, and each of them gave themselves fully to their mission and training. It breaks my heart though knowing these men and many others died in a war that ultimately did not bring lasting peace to the people in Afghanistan.
The only thing we all can do now is live lives that would honor those who no longer are with us. To live anything less does disservice to the memory of them and their sacrifice.
The following sailors assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit were killed:
- Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana
- Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, California
- Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Arkansas
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii
- Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Connecticut
- Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Massachusetts
- Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Missouri
- Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, West Virginia
- Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana
- Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Michigan
- Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, California
- Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, North Carolina
- Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah
- Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Nebraska
- Cryptologist Technician(Collection)Petty Officer 1st Class(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa
- Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Florida
- Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah
The following sailors assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit were killed:
- Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, California
- Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL)Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minnesota
The soldiers killed were:
- Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Aurora, Colorado
- Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment(General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas
- Staff Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand Island, Nebraska
- Sergeant Hamburger was posthumously promoted to Staff Sergeant
- Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas
- Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas
The airmen killed were:
- Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Florida
- Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, California
- Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pennsylvania
- All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina.
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COVID-19 Update 2
For my Navy friends
The US Navy has a running blog for all things COVID-19
You can find it here - Navy COVID-19 Response
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COVID-19 Update 1
Understanding the “Shelter-in-place”
So yesterday the IL Gov announced a “shelter-in-place” or stay at home order. You can find more about that @Sun-Times, @NPR, and @NBC. You can see the actual Governor’s Order.
Key things
- No gatherings of more than 10 people
- Absolutely no travel by any means, unless deemed essential.
- NO travel in and out of the state unless it is to maintain “Essential Businesses and Operations and Minimum Basic Operations”.
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Start Here!
Welcome
I’m John, this is my blog, there are many like it, but this one is mine ;) . The thoughts and opinions and articles of work expressed here are my own, and NOT the opinions or thoughts of my employer. I am an Azure consultant with 10th Magnitude in Chicago, IL.
I am a certified Microsoft Azure Administrator, and have been working in IT for over 20 years.
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