Never just a number

07/16/08
AP: More US troops may go to Afghanistan this year
Pentagon leaders on Wednesday signaled a surge in U.S. forces in Afghanistan "sooner rather than later" ? a shift that could come later this year as they prepare to cut troop levels in Iraq.

07/16/08 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties (4 of 4)
The DoD announced today the death of nine soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died of wounds suffered when their outpost was attacked by small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades from enemy forces in Wanat

07/16/08 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties (3 of 4)
1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii,
Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, Calif.,
Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Ga.

07/16/08 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties (2 of 4)
Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Wash.,
Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tenn.,
Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Ga.

07/16/08 : DoD Identifies Army Casualties (1 of 4)
Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, N.C.
Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Mo.
Pfc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Ky.

07/16/08 AJC: Snellville man dies in Afghanistan
His parents had already begun buying decorations for Jon Ayers' homecoming party. The Army corporal was due to return to Snellville in three weeks. He had but one week remaining on his first tour of Afghanistan.

[Source]

Latest Coalition Fatalities

07/17/08
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Jeffery S. Stevenson, 20, of Newton, N.J., died July 13 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force...

07/17/08
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. David W. Textor, 27, of Roanoke, Va., died Jul 15 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a vehicle incident. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Lewis, Wash.

07/16/08
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Vrooman, 28, of Sioux Falls, S.D., died Jul 15 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while his unit was conducting combat operations in Kn'an, Iraq.

07/16/08
MNF: MNF-W Marine dies of wounds
A Multi-National Force - West Marine died of wounds he received in action against an enemy force in al-Anbar Province July 14.

Corporal Jason M. Bogar, mentioned above, was the son of a friend of KJ, someone denizens of OCICBW know and care about. We are all linked in the web of life on this planet. I wrote in the comments there that "Though I track the toll on my blog I am aware that they are not numbers, not a single one of them. They are our brothers and sisters, daughters and sons, spouses and partners, fathers and mothers, cousins, friends, neighbors, buds, companions, beloved children of God."

As are all the dead and the living, good or evil or in the vast somewhere in the middle.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy on us.

--the BB