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Troops Killed In Afghanistan

October 29, 2011 by · Comments Off on Troops Killed In Afghanistan 

Troops Killed In Afghanistan, Fourteen times in nine years, Sgt. 1st Class Kristoffer Domeij had left his family behind and headed for deployment as an Army Ranger, participating in hundreds of combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, all before age 30.

His most recent tour to be the last. The veteran soldier’s death shook their commanders, and those of his native San Diego. His former football coach, Jeff Carpenter, Domeij remembered as diligent, funny, passionate team.

“I told my students that I was incredibly sad to begin with, and very angry,” said Carpenter, who besides being an assistant coach for the past 18 years is also a social science teacher at Rancho Bernardo High School. “Just the fact that it happened to someone like him is hard -.”

Domeij, first lieutenant and the soldier Ashley White. 1st Class Christopher Horns all died Saturday in Kandahar province when an improvised explosive device exploded near his assault force, according to a U.S. Army Special Operations Command news.

The death of the trio is far from unprecedented: According to CNN’s account, based on U.S. military reports, there have been U.S. troops 1.811 killed during Operation Enduring Freedom, the US-led mission in Afghanistan, which began in October 2001.

Every person, every death is unique. For Domeij, which translates into a man of his unit commander described as “irreplaceable” – in the battlefield and in life.

“It was one of those known to all men both for his humor, enthusiasm and loyal friends like him for his unsurpassed skill and courage under fire,” said Lt. Col. David Hodne, second Battalion Chief Ranger Regiment at 75. “This was a Ranger you wanted by your side when things did not work.”

Domeij distinguished himself as a person as much as he did as a player while in high school, his former coach recalled.

“It was a great kid,” Carpenter said, describing his sense of humor and participation of the personality. “And we knew that as coaches, no matter what, it was a boy who was going to play hard and (all) out.”

Carpenter said he was not surprised when he said he would Domeij enlist. “It made perfect sense world,” said the coach, taking into account the dedication Domeij of and ability to grow as a team member.

So Domeij enlisted in the army in July, just months after graduating from high school and shortly before the September 11 terrorist attacks. Nine months later, he joined Ranger Regiment.

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