Tuesday, October 03, 2006 5:29 AM - CENTCOM's headquarter in Afghanistan, CFC-Afghanistan, is reporting the deaths of two U.S. soldiers on October 2nd. Because the link to their release does not work for many people, we are reproducing the pertinent parts here:

Two U.S., one ANA Soldier killed BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Two U.S. Soldiers and an Afghan soldier were killed and three U.S. Soldiers were wounded during fighting with enemy combatants in the Pech District of Kunar Province on the evening of Oct. 2. The soldiers were operating as part of a combat patrol that made contact with enemy extremists. The unit engaged the insurgents with small arms and artillery fire. All U.S. and Afghan wounded Soldiers were medically evacuated to a U.S. treatment facility in Asadabad, where they remain in stable condition.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006 4:48 PM - Earlier today, the Turkish Press reported that one NATO soldier was dead and one missing presumed dead in Kandahar Province. The nationalities of the men were not given at the time. The Canadian Department of National Defense has now confirmed that the two dead were Canadians: Sergeant Craig Paul Gillam and Corporal Robert Thomas James Mitchell, both of the Royal Canadian Dragoons out of Petawawa, Ontario. In addition, 5 Canadian soldiers were wounded in the attack which the Canadian DND says occurred in the Panjwayi District about 20 km west of Kandahar City.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006 5:01 AM - CBC News has revealed a little more on the backgrounds of the two Canadian soldiers who were killed in Kandahar Province on October 3rd.
	Sergeant Craig Paul Gillam was a native of a small community called South Branch on the west coast of Newfoundland.
Craig Paul Gillam, South Branch, Newfoundland, Canada
	Corporal Robert Mitchell lived in Niagara Falls, but grew up partly in Owen Sound, Ontario, where his parents still live.
Robert Mitchell, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada

Wednesday, October 04, 2006 1:10 PM - The DoD has identified one of the two American deaths in Kunar Province on October 2nd: Specialist Angelo J. Vaccaro, 23, of Deltona, Florida. According to this article on the WWTI-TV website, Specialist Vaccaro volunteered to help retrieve troops injured in an attack ... but when he arrived in the area of the attack, he was hit by a rocket propelled grenade and killed instantly. The DoD cite "Korengal" as his place of death. This is a reference to the Korengal River Valley adjacent to FOB Blessing which is located in the Pech River Valley. See this article from ABC News for a description of the area.

Angelo Vaccaro, 23, Deltona, Florida

Thursday, October 05, 2006 4:40 AM - More articles are appearing in the Canadian news media with details on the two Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan on October 3rd. This one from the Canadian Press focuses on the 40-year-old Newfoundlander Sergeant Craig Paul Gillam. CBC News published an item with his birth place: Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland. This was the first overseas deployment for both Gillam and Corporal Robert Thomas James Mitchell. They had only been in Afghanistan since August.

Thursday, October 05, 2006 5:48 AM - The Toronto Sun gives the age of Canadian Corporal Robert Mitchell as 32. Mitchell was killed in Afghanistan on October 3rd.

Saturday, October 07, 2006 3:32 AM - The Khaleej Times is reporting the death of another NATO soldier in the Panjwai District of Kandahar Province. The soldier died early on October 7th when his patrol was hit by a roadside bomb followed by small arms fire. The nationality of the soldier is unknown at this point. However, he or she is likely Canadian as they make up the bulk of troops in this area.

Saturday, October 07, 2006 9:26 AM - The Canadian Press has now confirmed that the NATO soldier who died early this morning in Kandahar Province was indeed Canadian. According to the article, the soldier's armored vehicle hit an explosive device powerful enough to penetrate the vehicle. The soldier died some time later that day from those injuries.

Sunday, October 08, 2006 5:45 AM - AM640 Radio in Toronto is reporting the name of the Canadian soldier killed on October 7th in Afghanistan: Trooper Mark Andrew Wilson of the Royal Canadian Dragoons out of Petawawa, Ontario. He died when his armored vehicle hit a roadside bomb. Monday, October 9, 2006 10:02 AM - A pair of CNews stories give details about Trooper Mark Andrew Wilson, who died on October 7th. The first mentions that he was 39 years old and a native of London, Ontario. The second adds that he was a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons reconnaissance team. A father of two, Wilson was riding in a Nyala armoured vehicle Saturday when the bomb struck. He was the third soldier from his unit to die in the past week.

Mark Andrew Wilson, 39, London, Ontario, Canada

	Sunday, October 08, 2006 11:12 AM - The DoD has released the identity of the second U.S. soldier who died in fighting in Kunar Province on October 2nd: Specialist Fernando D. Robinson, 21, of Hawthorne, California.
Fernando D. Robinson, 21, Hawthorne, California, with fiancee, Maria

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 5:11 AM - A report has appeared in the Dutch media outlet Binnenland of a suicide among the Dutch troops based at Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan. Roughly translated, the article says that the man, a sergeant, was found dead by his colleagues this morning, October 11th. He had taken his life with his service weapon while sitting in a military vehicle. The information came from a Dutch Ministry of Defense notice which stated that the man's family has now been notified. They were very specific that, although the death was being investigated, all signs point to suicide. It has not yet been announced when the man's remains will be transported back to the Netherlands. But the exact same procedures will be followed as if the death had been by enemy contact or by accident. Approximately 1,000 Dutch troops and several hundred Australians are currently based out of Tarin Kowt. The spokesman for the Dutch MOD said that the last suicide among Dutch troops stationed abroad was in Bosnia in 2002.

Thursday, October 12, 2006 11:32 AM - The Associated Press is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 11th. The soldier fell out of a helicopter as it was coming in for a landing in Helmand Province. He was transported to a military hospital in Kandahar where he died.

Thursday, October 12, 2006 5:59 PM - Reuters is reporting the deaths of two U.S. soldiers and an Afghan soldier in a clash with insurgents late Monday night, October 9th, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. In addition, 3 U.S. soldiers were wounded.

Friday, October 13, 2006 6:53 PM -
	(1) The DoD has announced the death of Chief Warrant Officer Scott W. Dyer, 38, of Cocoa Beach, Florida, in Banditemur, Afghanistan, from enemy action on Wednesday, October 11th. At this point, we can only assume that his death was the one described in this media article ... the soldier who died after falling from a helicopter preparing to land. Indeed, an article printed a short time ago in Florida Today quotes his sister as saying he "was in a helicopter that came under attack." This would seem to indicate that his death was certainly from hostile causes, and not non-hostile as we'd thought earlier. A google search for "Banditemur" turned up only that it was a "remote village" and a purported "Taliban stronghold" without ascertaining its precise location. Dyer was an assistant detachment commander for a special forces unit based at Fort Bragg, NC.
		Scott Dyer, 38 Cocoa Beach, Florida
	(2) An article has appeared in the Dutch media outlet Leeuwarder Courant that has a few more details about the Dutch sergeant who committed suicide at his camp (Camp Holland, we believe) in Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan on October 11th. His name has not yet been released, but he was apparently from the town of Oudega in the northern Netherlands province of Friesland.
	(3) Bloomberg.com is reporting that a NATO soldier has been killed in the city of Kandahar when a suicide bomber struck his military convoy, on Friday, October 13th. The nationality of the soldier has yet to be confirmed although the majority of troops in Kandahar Province are Canadian.

Saturday, October 14, 2006 1:40 PM -
	(1) ISAF, NATO's International Security Assistance Force operating in Afghanistan, has announced the deaths of two ISAF troops on Saturday, October 14th. They died when attacked with rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire in Kandahar Province. The nationalities of the victims have not yet been announced.
	(2) ISAF has also confirmed Friday's death (October 13th) of an ISAF soldier in a suicide bombing in Kandahar City. The nationality of this soldier has also yet to be released.

Saturday, October 14, 2006 2:11 PM - The Canadian Press is reporting that the two ISAF troops killed in Kandahar Province on Saturday, October 14th, were both Canadians.

	Saturday, October 14, 2006 7:57 PM - The DoD has announced that the ISAF soldier killed in Kandahar from a suicide car bomb on Friday, October 13th, was an American: Specialist Jason A. Lucas, 24, of Columbus, Ohio.
Jason A. Lucas, 24, Columbus, Ohio

Sunday, October 15, 2006 9:18 AM - CBC News has published the identities of the two Canadian soldiers who died in an enemy attack in Kandahar Province on Saturday, October 14th: Sergeant Darcy Tedford and Private Blake Williamson. Their ages and hometowns are not known at this time, although the article did state that both were assigned to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment out of Petawawa, Ontario. The Canadian Department of National Defense confirmed the incident that led to the deaths here. The official release of the soldiers' identities can be found here.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006 2:19 AM -
	(1) For the past week, our database has shown two U.S. deaths on October 9th based on the information in this Reuters article which was dated October 12th. It has now become apparent that the article was misdated and is an "echo" of the two earlier U.S. deaths in Kunar Province on October 2nd, exactly a week previously. A close comparison between the Reuters article and this CENTCOM release for the October 2nd deaths readily reveals the similarities. For this reason, the deaths on the 9th are being deleted from the database.
	(2) An article recently appeared on the Dutch Defense website concerning the transfer of Brigadier General Ton van Loon to Afghanistan to take over command of the Dutch operations in southern Afghanistan. Apparently a ceremony was held at his latest command at Havelte in the Netherlands to mark the occasion. Roughly translated, the second paragraph reads as follows:
		In the presence of "guests" and a thousand soldiers, Van Loon, who had been commander of the Postkazerne Barracks [at Havelte] for some three years, was bid farewell. But first he stood in quiet commemoration of the death of a sergeant in Uruzgan last week. The soldier had been quartered at Havelte [not completely sure this is translated correctly, but that's what it appears to say]. "Today the flags hang at half mast for this dead soldier of the 112 Pantsergeniebataljon [armored engineer battalion]. His death is a tragedy for his family." After these words, a minute of silence followed.
	At this time, we are unable to find further information about the 112 Pantsergeniebataljon. In fact, searches of the Dutch Army website and Wikipedia yield nothing. There is an 11 Pantsergeniebataljon that is based partially at Havelte and which serves in the brigade that has recently supplied troops to Afghanistan. More research is definitely needed.
	(3) Articles are beginning to appear now on the two Canadian soldiers who were killed in Kandahar Province on October 14th. The Calgary Sun states that Private Blake Williamson was from Ottawa, Ontario, and Sergeant Darcy Tedford was from Earltown, Nova Scotia. The Calgary Herald added that Private Williamson had also spent part of his youth in the town of Kemptville, Ontario.

Thursday, October 19, 2006 10:34 AM - The British Ministry of Defense is reporting the death of a Royal Marine in a suicide bombing in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, on Thursday, October 19th. According to news reports, a man on foot threw himself at a British convoy as it left a police station, detonating explosives. Another Royal Marine was injured in the blast and is listed in serious condition.

	Friday, October 20, 2006 7:36 AM - The British Ministry of Defense has released the identity of the British Royal Marine who was killed in a suicide bombing in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, on Thursday, October 19th: Marine Gary Wright, 22, of Glasgow, Scotland. He was with the 45 Commandos based in Arbroath, Scotland.
Gary Wright, 22, Glasgow, Scotland

	Saturday, October 21, 2006 5:28 AM - The Ottawa Sun reports on the memorial service held for 23-year-old Canadian Private Blake Williamson in his hometown of Kemptville, Ontario, on October 20th.
Blake Williamson, 23, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Monday, October 23, 2006 7:13 AM - The Halifax, Nova Scotia, Chronicle Herald has published an intriguing article on the fact that although Nova Scotia contains less than 3% of the population of Canada, 16% of Canadian military dead in Afghanistan have hailed from that province. The same lopsided statistics also hold true for Newfoundland and Labrador. 32-year-old Sergeant Darcy Tedford, who was killed in Kandahar Province on October 14th, is Nova Scotia's most recent loss.

Darcy Tedford, 32, Earltown, Nova Scotia

Sunday, October 29, 2006 4:53 AM - AFP is reporting the death of a NATO International Security Assistance Force soldier when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in Oruzgan Province on Saturday, October 28th. The nationality of the dead soldier has not been revealed yet. The bulk of the ISAF forces in Oruzgan Province are Dutch and Australian troops.

	Monday, October 30, 2006 2:58 PM - The DoD has announced the death of a soldier from a non-hostile, unspecified cause at FOB Salerno in Khowst Province on Friday, October 27th: Private Michael V. Bailey, 20, of Waldorf, Maryland. This is a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM.
Michael V. Bailey, 20, Waldorf, Maryland

Tuesday, October 31, 2006 8:23 AM - The situation in Afghanistan at the moment is murky, to put it mildly. This is our best assessment of recent deaths:
	(1) The NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) website has confirmed the death of the ISAF soldier in a roadside bomb blast in Oruzgan Province on Saturday, October 28th. However, the nationality of the death has still not been announced. The Australians and Dutch are the predominate forces in this area. However, with the long delay in announcing the nationality, we are beginning to wonder if it wasn't an American who died.
	(2) The ISAF website is also confirming the death of an ISAF soldier on Monday, October 30th. According to their report, that incident happened in the Deh Chopan District of Zabul Province. There ISAF forces engaged a group of insurgents with small arms fire and close air support, during which, the ISAF soldier was killed. Again, no nationality was given. However, the Americans are the prodominate force in this area.
	(3) Lastly, the ISAF website has confirmed the death of two ISAF soldiers in a roadside bomb blast in the Waygal District of Nuristan Province on Tuesday, October 31st. However, the Washington Post has an updated article out stating that actually three soldiers were killed in that incident (this after originally reporting two deaths). Either the Post received erroneous information, or a third soldier died after the ISAF press release was issued. We will include the third death in our database at this time, but will delete it if it proves false. Again, no nationality is known at present.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006 3:23 PM - The U.S. Department of Defense has now confirmed that the ISAF soldier killed by an improvised explosive device in Oruzgan Province on Saturday, October 28th, was an American: Staff Sergeant Kyu H. Chay, 34, of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 9:45 AM - An article in the Wilmington Star gives further details about the death of Staff Sergeant Kyu H. Chay, 34, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, who died when a bomb went off near his Humvee. Chay was a cryptologic linguist who served as a Special Operations Team-Alpha assistant team leader. He was a native of Daegu, South Korea, and came to the United States when he was 7 years old. He lived in Cincinnati and then New York City until he joined the Army in January 2001. Before being deployed in August 2006 to support U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, Chay had served as a team leader and squad leader with the 313th Military Intelligence Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. Chay is survived by his wife, Cathy, 5-year-old son, Jason and 10-month-old daughter, Kelly. He was finishing up a law degree so he could become a Judge Advocate General in the service. Chay will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Kyu H. Chay, 34, Fayetteville, North Carolina

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 10:39 AM - An article in the Edmonton Sun confirms that a roadside bomb ripped through a NATO vehicle on Tuesday, October 31, killing three soldiers on patrol in a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan. "NATO said two soldiers were killed in the blast yesterday in Nuristan province and two wounded troops were taken to a military medical facility, where one of the soldiers later died. The western alliance did not release the nationalities of the soldiers but U.S. troops are the primary NATO component in the area."

Friday, November 03, 2006 8:04 AM -
	(1) The Southwest Florida Herald Tribune is reporting the death of a Jacksonville, Florida, man in Afghanistan: Army Specialist Isaiah Calloway, 23. He appears to be the small arms fire in Zabul Province on Monday, October 30th.
	(2) The Traverse City, Michigan, Record Eagle is reporting the death of a local man in Afghanistan: Army Major Douglas E. Sloan. According to the article, Sloan had previously been the subject of a story in an army publication, Freedom Watch (8/28/06 edition, pp. 14-15) , that detailed the work that he and his men were doing in Nuristan Province. That, coupled with the fact that his family was notified of his death early Tuesday afternoon, October 31st, leads us to believe that the major was one of the three fatalities that day from a roadside bomb in Waygal District, Nuristan Province. The Freedom Watch piece gives his unit as B Company of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment.
	(3) The West Virginia station WCHS-8 is reporting the death of Army Sergeant Charles John "C-J" McClain, 26, of Weirton, West Virginia, in Afghanistan. According to their story, he died in a land mine blast on Wednesday, November 1st. However, we have received no word of any deaths on that day from either ISAF or CENTCOM. For now, we are going to assume he is really one of the three deaths in an IED blast in Nuristan Province on October 31st.

Friday, November 03, 2006 2:15 PM - The DoD has confirmed the identity of the soldier who died in Zabul Province from small arms fire on Monday, October 30th: Specialist Isaiah Calloway, 23, of Jacksonville, Florida. The place of death given, Marah, does appear to be a town in Zabul Province. An interesting note about his unit, the 1st Battalion of the 4th Infantry Regiment: that unit normally "plays" the opposing force in training sessions at the Combat Maneuver Training Center at Hohenfels, Germany.

Isaiah Calloway, 23, Jacksonville, Florida and his wife Alicia

Sunday, November 05, 2006 5:04 AM - The Traverse City, Michigan, Record Eagle now has an updated article out on Major Douglas Sloan who died in a roadside bomb blast in Nuristan Province on October 31st. He was 40 years old.
	Douglas E. Sloan , 40, Charlevoix, Michigan, and his son Kellan

Monday, November 06, 2006 7:58 AM - The DoD has announced the identities of the three soldiers who died when a roadside bomb exploded next to their vehicle in Nuristan Province on October 31st:
	Major Douglas E. Sloan, 40, of Evans Mills, New York Sergeant Charles J. McClain, 26, of Fort Riley, Kansas Private 1st Class Alex Oceguera, 19, of San Bernardino, California
	Apparently, Sergeant McClain survived the blast itself, but died later after being airlifted to a military hospital in Asadabad.