The first call came early Saturday morning, Aug. 6, about the 38 U.S. and Afghan troops, killed by insurgents who shot down their CH-47 Chinook helicopter. After getting the call, Sgt. 1st Class Mary Perez said she doesn’t remember getting much sleep from that moment on.

She, along with other senior leaders from the 101st Sustainment Brigade and the 101st Special Troops Battalion, began rolling up their sleeves and headed to the Bagram Air Field Mortuary Affairs Collection Point where they were tasked to provide support in preparation for the eventual ramp ceremony.

“You’re tasked out to do it and it’s your job. But to do something like that, it’s just … different,” said Perez, a brigade military intelligence non-commissioned officer in charge. “It’s not just a tasking anymore. It’s something personal. It’s a tasking that as a soldier, no matter who you are or what rank you wear on your chest, you execute, and you execute to your fullest capability.”

The members of the special operations mission – which included 22 Navy SEALS, three U.S. Air Force airmen, four U.S. Army air crew members and a K-9 unit dog – died after their helicopter was apparently shot down last week as they were flying in to help Army Rangers who were going after insurgents on the ground.

Eight Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter were also on board the downed aircraft.

The Department of Defense has ordered an investigation into the incident. According to official reports, the deaths are the highest number of U.S. forces killed during a single event in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Mortuary Affairs Collection Point at Bagram is tasked with the retrieval, tentative identification, transportation and burial of deceased American and allied personnel. The brigade’s special troops battalion provides staff supervision at the site, which is operated by the 54th Quartermaster Company, based out of Fort Lee, Va.

The senior leaders from the brigade and battalion assigned to the detail are not specifically trained as mortuary affairs specialists. They helped with recovering and transporting the remains from the flight line, getting additional transfer cases, ironing the flags, and cleaning the MACP site.

They also took part in the ramp ceremony, acting as pallbearers and carrying the transfer cases of the deceased to the special operations forces units to load onto the planes heading back to the U.S.

“They provided the logistical support we needed, like the vehicles for transport and additional cases as we needed,” said Sgt. 1st Class Alessa Jose, Bagram MACP non-commissioned officer in charge, 54th QM Company “They also made sure we had additional refrigeration units for the fallen.”

Jose said her team normally receives between one and two remains a day to process and handles all aspects of the preparation. She said her team received the remains on Sunday morning, Aug. 7, and was able to process and prepare all of the remains by Monday, Aug. 8.

“Their (Lifeliners) support was critical because of the time involved,” she said. “If it was just us doing this, the processing would have taken longer.”

“By the Lifeliners coming in and helping with the other part, it allowed us to focus on the processing job and cut down a lot of the time. You’re looking at about a 36-hour time frame. That helped us out a lot.”

Brigade medical operations officer Maj. Dierdre Lockhart was part of the truck team detail for loading and unloading the deceased SOF team members and said the Lifeliners’ involvement illustrated their willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty.

“It definitely showed we were willing to pick up the ball and run with it when we were needed,” she said.

The brigade conducted Leadership Professional Development training on Mortuary Affairs this past March, where they were introduced to how fallen heroes are identified and processed in preparation to be sent home.

But even attending that training did not prepare the senior leaders for being active participants in an actual event.

Perez said she and other senior leaders in the brigade received a call to go to the MACP, but were unsure what their duty was going to be. As time went on, they started to figure it out, she said.

She and two other officers were also assigned to a truck team that loaded and unloaded the remains. It was the first time she’s ever been involved with something like this, she said.

“You come there to do a mission and then the reality hits you: all you could see, smell and feel was death,” she said. “And you have to maintain composure.”

Perez said she noticed the Navy SEALs carrying their fallen teammates to the trucks. “I mean, these guys are tough, they’re in it, they’re the ones kicking in doors, but I’ve never seen them look more vulnerable,” she said. “They’re not just machines. It brings light to the fact that we’re all in this fight together.”

The decision to use brigade and battalion senior ranking leadership to assist the MACP unit was not lost on Perez, she said.

“You don’t want to expose your junior soldiers to that. It’s emotional and disheartening when you’re in this fight to see mass amounts of casualties like that. There were majors ironing the flags and mopping the floors in the MACP, not because it was a task, but because it was the right thing to do,” she said.

The seniors also intensely rehearsed their part of the ramp ceremony, filling transfer cases with bundles of water and practiced carrying the containers on the K-loaders to deliver to the SOF teams.

“We wanted to do this right and give these guys the honor they earned and deserved,” Perez said. “As an NCO, you know what right looks like. These guys deserve the very best we could give them. Everything had to be perfect.”

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes

On May 20, 2009 America lost one of its best.

First Lt. Roslyn L. Schulte, 25, died Wednesday near Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in a roadside bomb attack.

Schulte was the first female graduate of the Air Force Academy to be killed in action. One of her friends wrote:

Ros was truly an exceptional person. Usually when you hear that about someone who just died, it’s almost always exaggeration, if not pure BS. With Ros, it’s not. She passed up on the Ivy leagues to go to the Air Force Academy. She qualified for state in five different sports in high school, was an all-American in college, a qualified pilot. She was ALWAYS kind to others. She went out of her way to call her mom and dad two or three times a week every week she was here. Sorry I don’t do that, Mom and Dad. No one did, except for Ros. She dreamed of getting out of the air force to settle down and start a family. She didn’t drink. She didn’t like the lifestyle of the military — said it didn’t work well for family. She wanted to be a successful business owner (like her mom), but worried that would interfere with raising a family.

More coverage of the female warfighter’s loss:

CNN

KSDK

Ladies of Liberty

On February 7, 2007 America lost one of its best.

Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell, 20, of Bel Air, Md., died Feb. 7 while supporting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

She was killed by a female suicide bomber. Parcell was part of the renowned “Lioness” program that the Marine Corps instituted where female warfighters were tasked to search female Iraqis.

More about this American Marine:

Our original story

Her high school mourns

MySpace memorial

On March 16, 2006, American lost one of its best. Sgt. Amanda Pinson was killed in a mortar attack.

We are deeply saddened for the loss of SGT Amanda Pinson. We are all still in shock. Amanda was a great soldier and an even better person. We all know where Amanda must be now. Amanda was already an angel and loved by all who knew her. We who knew Amanda are all devastated and heartbroken and she will never be forgotten.

I knew Amanda personally. Amanda was a 98C Signals Intelligence Analyst. Although I am the Senior 98C working in the same unit Amanda did not work directly for me yet I still often spoke with her and she often came to me for advice on many different matters. Although all of our soldiers are precious to us Amanda was like a daughter to me and she will always be loved and remain in my thoughts, prayers, and in my heart. I will forever miss hearing Amanda calling me Old Man.

Amanda will always be loved and missed by those who knew her. Amanda was always funny, full of laughter, and quite the jokester too. She always made everyone’s day a better day. Amanda set the example for all to live by. If only all people conducted themselves in this manner we would all be in a better place. We who knew Amanda are all truly blessed to have known her and all hope to one day be good enough to see her again.

I along with many other Rear Detachment soldiers from Amanda’s unit went to St. Louis to meet Amanda’s family, pay our respects, and attend her funeral. It was the saddest moment in my life yet the most rewarding. The attendance by those who loved and knew her and the support of the local community were truly amazing and emotional. I would like to thank Amanda’s family for their hospitality and their graciousness that they showed us in their own time of mourning. They are truly wonderful loving people just like Amanda.

V/R,
Stuart K. Bailey
101st ABN DIV

Read all the posts about this remarkable young American at this link.

America lost one of its best on March 3, 2009. Spc. Jessica Sarandrea, 22, of Miami, was killed during a mortar attack, in Mosul, Iraq.

Sarandrea, who graduated from Coral Gables High School, was stationed in Mosul, where she worked as a supply specialist performing logistical support for her battalion, said Alejandro ”Alex” Sarandrea, her husband. She was walking from her office, perhaps to get her gear, when she was hit by shrapnel from incoming mortar, her husband said.

More about this female warfighter:

Our Best: Spc. Jessica Sarandrea – KIA

Killeen Daily Herald

KWTX

Family website