NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee man, SFC Jeremy W. Griffin has been identified by Pentagon officials as the U.S. service member killed in action in Afghanistan this week.
Griffin, 40, of Greenbrier, TN, was killed on Monday by “small arms fire when his unit was engaged in combat operations in Wardak Province,” according to a news release from the Department of Defense.
Griffin was born in Panama and was listed as being from Greenbrier, Tennessee. In addition to his prior deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Griffin served in Iraq in 2006 and served an overseas rotation in Korea last year. He was on his fourth combat deployment, officials said.
Sgt. 1st Class Griffin was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. They are among nearly two dozen medals and awards Griffin had earned through his military career.
Monday’s death was the 17th U.S. combat death in Afghanistan this year, according to the Pentagon’s count. There also have been three non-combat deaths this year. More than 2,400 Americans have died in the nearly 18-year war, reports FOX17.
Approximately 20,000 American and allied troops remain in Afghanistan. Between 14,000 and 13,000 U.S. troops are currently in the country.
Geo quick facts: Wardak Province, also called Wardag or simply Wardak, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central region of Afghanistan. It is divided into eight districts and has a population of approximately 567,600. Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in South-Central Asia. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and in the far northeast, China. Greenbrier is a city in Robertson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,433 at the 2010 census, an increase of 1,493 from the 2000 census population of 4,940. Greenbrier is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Area – Wikipedia.
BANCROFT, WV. (THECOUNT) -- West Virginia State Police are investigating after the body of a…
FORREST COUNTY, MISS. (THECOUNT) -- Louis Claiborne III, 28, of Newton, Mississippi, has been identified…
JACKSON, MS. (THECOUNT) -- Jaret Raney, an 18-year-old from Clinton, Mississippi, was killed Wednesday evening…
STATESVILLE, NC. (THECOUNT) -- A private aircraft owned by NASCAR driver Greg Biffle crashed Thursday…
ATLANTA, GA. (THECOUNT) -- Gil Gerard, the actor best known for starring as Buck Rogers…
STOCKTON, CA. (THECOUNT) -- Arianna Rowland Buzenes, a 23-year-old woman from Stockton, California, was found…