Sections

SpecialOperations.com

The Definitive Spec Ops Resource

THE DEFINITIVE SPEC OPS RESOURCE FOR FITNESS AND SELECTION

IED attack

Three U.S. Marines Killed in IED Suicide Bombing Identified

On Monday, a suicide bomber set off an IED that killed three U.S. Marines and wounded several others. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Those Marines killed in the attack have now been identified.

The Taliban suicide bombing of the U.S. convoy just outside of Bagram airbase killed Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, 43, of Newark, Delaware, Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, NY Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, 31, of York Pennsylvania. These were the first Marine Corps deaths in the theater since 2016 when a Marine SSG was killed in a rocket attack by the Islamic State in Iraq.

The three men were from the 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division (Reserve) from Ft. Devens, MA. There was also an Afghan contractor with the Marines who was initially reported as being killed but he was later found wounded and was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover.  Bagram airbase is part of the Bagram district is located in northern Parwan province and serves as the main U.S. air base in the country.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and that one of their suicide bombers detonated his explosives-laden vehicle near the NATO base. Five Afghan civilians were also wounded in the attack.

Slutman was a 15-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department as well as a member of the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department in Maryland. He leaves behind a wife and three daughters.

“Through this trying time, we will remember Chris for the father, husband, brother, son, and friend that he was, the moral character he displayed daily, and the courage and conviction to serve his fellow Americans, both at home and abroad,” the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department wrote on Facebook said on Facebook.

“We ask for your thoughts and prayers for his firehouse brothers, his fellow Marines, his friends – but most of all, his family.”

“Firefighter Slutman bravely wore two uniforms and committed his life to public service both as a New York City Firefighter and as a member of the United States Marine Corps,” said New York Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro. “The hearts and prayers of the entire Department are with his loved ones and with the families of his fellow service members who lost their lives in service to our nation.”

“We feel and mourn the loss of these Americans with their families and loved ones. They volunteered to protect their country. We will continue our mission,” said Gen. Scott Miller, Commanding General of Resolute Support and U.S. Forces Afghanistan.

There are about 14,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, supporting Afghan forces as they struggle on two fronts — facing a resurgent Taliban who now controls over almost half the country as well as the Islamic State affiliate, which has been trying to expand its influence in Afghanistan, most especially since its self-proclaimed “caliphate” has crumbled in Syria and Iraq.

Prior to Monday’s IED attack, four U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan in 2019. Last year, 13 U.S. troops were killed.

The Taliban and US-led coalition have continued to try to get the upper hand in the fighting which has last for over 17 years. This is despite holding several rounds of peace talks with the United States U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad in recent months. The Taliban, however, has refused to meet with representatives of the Afghan government, who they view as a U.S. puppet.

The Taliban has stated that they will take part in an all-Afghan meeting in Qatar, where they have a political office. However, the Taliban have stated that any government official attending will not be recognized as a legitimate government official but only as an Afghan participant.

Photo: Facebook

 

Local Hero, Special Forces NCO Eric Emond Killed in Afghanistan IED Attack

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.” 
― George S. Patton Jr.

The United States Special Operations Command had three of their commandos killed in an IED attack in Afghanistan on Tuesday. The bombing killed Captain Andrew Patrick Ross, 29, of Virginia,  Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin, 25, of Pennsylvania and Sergeant First Class Eric Emond of Fall River, Massachusetts who all died after the vehicle they were in was struck by an improvised explosive device in the Ghazni province of Afghanistan.

Ross and Emond were Green Berets from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (3rd SFG) and Elchin was an Air Force a special tactics combat controller, embedded with the Special Forces A-Team directing close-air support aircraft, and delivering destructive ordnance on enemy targets.

It has been a bloody, costly week for our Special Operations forces, last week Sergeant Leandro Jassos of the 2nd Ranger Battalion was killed on an operation, also in Afghanistan where he may have been shot by friendly fire from Afghan commandos who are trained and advised by our Special Operations Forces.

But up here in New England, the loss of Emond struck a particular tough chord with the people. First, he was a local, one of them and graduated from Durfee High School in the tough town of Fall River, Massachusetts about 50 miles south of Boston.

Emond was a veteran of 21 years of service. He joined the Marine Corps and was a Scout Sniper during the Marines first incursion into Afghanistan 17 years ago. He later got out joined the Army and became a Green Beret. He was on his seventh combat tour when he was killed in action this week.

Back in 2009, Emond was severely wounded by an RPG in an ambush in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province. As he struggled to get healthy enough to pass a medical board, he was back home in Boston in 2010 when he and a few other combat veterans helped get the United States’ first Iraq/Afghanistan War Memorial built in Boston’s seaport. It is an obelisk and plaque that lists the name of every one of the troops killed during the wars.

Sadly enough, Emond’s name will now be added to the memorial that he helped to make happen.

The war memorial project raised over $2 million dollars in private funds as well as state grants. The entire project was entirely organized by local veterans like Emond. The Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Foundation is now dedicated to providing support to Gold Star Families and educating schoolchildren about their sacrifices.

One hard-boiled Boston Police sergeant, Michael Brown worked with Emond on the war memorial. Brown was also a Marine who fought in Iraq. He had this to say about the Green Beret. “When I tell my kids stories about bravery and courage, it’s going to be guys like Eric Emond I’m talking about,” he told reporters.

“You’re injured, you fight to get back, you keep going forward,” Brown said. “That’s real courage. They keep going back and back for a country that seemingly has found other things to put on the front page.”

Massachusetts Fallen Heroes director Dan Magoon, who also fought in Iraq, said that “He (Emond), was instrumental in getting this off the ground,” Magoon said. “The mission has come full circle. All we can do now is honor his legacy and support his family.”

“He was an unbelievably caring man,” Magoon said. “He cared about this country, he cared about his service, most of all, he cared about his wife and his kids — his family.”

Greg Kelly, a Boston firefighter and fellow Green Beret who is the co-founder of the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes and once served in the same task force as Emond in Afghanistan in 2009, said, “He’s a great American. He served his country his entire adult life. He served his community. He was doing something he loved. He died doing something he loved.”

“He was a soldier’s soldier, a marine’s marine,” Magoon told local television reporters. “He wore two different uniforms throughout his whole adult life serving this country and he cared more about other people than himself.”

Andrew DelRossi Biggio told Boston 25 News that he met Emond while interning at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in 2009 while Emond was rehabbing from his brain and spinal injuries and the two became close.

“We became friends,” DelRossi Biggio said. “For a year straight, we worked with other veterans in the state creating organizations that are still running today, helping to memorialize veterans from the Commonwealth who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“He didn’t have to go back in the Army after he was wounded,” DelRossi Biggio said. “He chose to. Now three more tours later, he sacrificed his life for us.”

“He motivated me. I looked up to him,” DelRossi Biggio added.

His awards and decorations include three Bronze Star Medals, two Purple Hearts, the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, two NATO Achievement Medal, four Afghanistan Campaign Medals, Army Good Conduct Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, two Overseas Service Ribbons, National Defense Service Medal, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist’s Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and Meritorious Service Medal.

He is survived by his wife Allie and three young children at Ft. Bragg, NC.