Ms Sparky

Four Killed in Attack in Kabul, Afghanistan

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (May 16, 2013) – Four DynCorp International personnel working on the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A) program were tragically killed by an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. Three others were injured but have been treated and released. The company extends its deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives. Out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing further information at this time.

Under the CSTC-A contract the company provides mentors and trainers to support the development of the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense. DI provides mentoring, training, subject matter expertise, and program support to CSTC-A staff and the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense. The program supports development of organizational capacity to assist the Afghanistan MOD and Afghan National Army forces in assuming full responsibility for their own security needs.~ Press Release, DynCorp website

• Michael Robert Bradford – Michael Bradford served five years in the Army and achieved the rank of sergeant before leaving in 2011. He graduated from Highlands High School in 2005 and briefly attended Northern Kentucky University before enlisting in the Army.
• Sgt. Eugene M Aguon, 23, of Mangilao, Guam
• Spc. Dwayne W. Flores, 22, of Sinajana, Guam
• Angel Roldan Jr., 62, Stafford, VA (Link to Obituary)

May 16, 2013 – (Associated Press) – KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide car bombing tore through a U.S. convoy in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 15 people including six Americans in a blast so powerful it rattled the other side of the Afghan capital. U.S. soldiers rushed to help, some wearing only T-shirts or shorts under their body armor.

A Muslim militant group claimed responsibility for the morning rush hour attack, saying it was carried out by a new suicide unit formed in response to reports that the U.S. plans to keep bases and troops in Afghanistan even after the 2014 deadline for the end of the foreign combat mission.

The group, Hizb-e-Islami, said its fighters had stalked the Americans for a week to learn their routine before striking — a claim which raises questions about U.S. security procedures.

Two children were among nine Afghan civilians killed in the attack.

“I can’t find my children. They’re gone. They’re gone,” their father screamed before collapsing to the ground as neighbors swarmed around to comfort him.

Two American soldiers were killed, as were four American civilian contractors with DynCorp International. DynCorp, a U.S. defense contractor based in Falls Church, Va., said its employees were working with U.S. forces training the Afghan military when the blast occurred. Read the remainder of this entry »

Cindy Galli, Rhonda Schwartz and Brian Ross  - (ABC NEWS) – October 17, 2012 – Cellphone video recorded earlier this year at an operations center of a U.S. security contractor in Kabul, Afghanistan appears to show key personnel staggeringly drunk or high on narcotics, in what former employees say was a pattern of outrageous behavior that put American lives at risk and went undetected by U.S. military officials who are supposed to oversee such contractors.

The video, provided to ABC News by two former employees, is scheduled to be broadcast in a report this evening on “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” and “Nightline.”

Asked if a response to an attack by terrorists would have been possible during the events seen on the video, one of the former employees, Kenny Smith, told ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross, “No, sir.”

Questions posed by ABC News to the Pentagon have sparked a criminal investigation by the U.S. Army, a spokesman says.

The contractor, Virginia-based Jorge Scientific, has won almost $1 billion in U.S. government contracts.

Read the remainder of this entry »

We will update you as more information becomes available.
~ Ms Sparky & Forseti

(International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases) – WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2012 – Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan today, military officials reported.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, officials said.

According to operational reporting, there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash. It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities. (Click HERE for original article)
———————————————————————————

NATO helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan kills 2 Australians

(Los Angeles Times) – KABUL, Afghanistan – August 30, 2012 – A NATO helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing two Australian troops, officials said, bringing that country’s military fatalities to five in less than 24 hours.

Read the remainder of this entry »

Aug. 16 in a helicopter crash northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Click HERE for article)
Killed were: 
Chief Warrant Officer Brian D. Hornsby, 37, of Melbourne, Fla.
Chief Warrant Officer Suresh N. A. Krause, 29, of Cathedral City, Calif.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Petty Officer Technician 1st Class Sean P. Carson, 32, of Des Moines, Wash.
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick D. Feeks, 28, of Edgewater, Md.
Sgt. Richard A. Essex, 23, of Kelseyville, Calif.
Sgt. Luis A. Oliver Galbreath, 41, of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class David J. Warsen, 27, of Kentwood, Mich.

We will update you as more information becomes available. Our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families ~Ms Sparky & Forseti

August 16, 2012 – International forces in Afghanistan rely heavily on air transport

Eleven people have been killed after a Black Hawk helicopter carrying foreign troops crashed in southern Afghanistan, the Nato-led coalition force says.

Read the remainder of this entry »

KANDAHAR – June 19, 2012 – Eleven Taliban suicide attackers struck two Afghan and Nato bases in Kandahar province on Tuesday, after gunmen in police uniforms killed a coalition soldier, officials said.

Seven insurgents stormed a joint Afghan-Nato base in Shah Wali Kot district at around 3:30 am, sparking a 30-minute gun battle that left all the attackers dead, Kandahar governor’s spokesman Jawed Faisal said.

Nato’s US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the attackers breached the outer perimeter of the base but no coalition soldiers were killed.

But Faisal and provincial police chief General Abdul Raziq both said a foreigner had been killed and two wounded, with Faisal describing the fatality as a civilian contractor. Their nationalities were unclear.

Read the remainder of this entry »