In Memoriam

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Italy

Italian Army Primo Caporal Maggiore Roberto Marchini was killed by a roadside bomb on Tuesday 12th July 2011 during a joint patrol about 3km from FOB Lavaredo, in Bakwa district, Farah province, Afghanistan. It was the last day of his deployment in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Maj. Marchini, born in 1983, served with the 8th Parachute Engineer Regiment based at Legnago, a unit within the Folgore Parachute Brigade. He was a bomb-disposal engineer on his third overseas combat mission.

He joined the army in 2005 and was proud to be a part of a team specializing in reconnaissance and bomb disposal. He leaves his parents and a sister.

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Denmark

COPENHAGEN — A Danish soldier was killed in an explosion in the southern Afghan province of Helmand Sunday morning, the Danish military said.

The soldier, who had been carrying out "an operative duty west of the Patrol Base Line," was evacuated by helicopter to the Danish field hospital at Camp Bastion, but "his life could not be saved," the military said in a statement.

It provided no further details of the circumstances around the explosion.

There are some 750 Danish troops in NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), most of them in Helmand province under British command.

Denmark has said that 30 of them will be brought home this summer, and that by the second half of 2012, the force will be reduced to about 650 soldiers.

Sunday's death brought to 39 the number of Danish soldiers killed in combat in Afghanistan since the deployment began. Two others have died outside of combat, one of a heart attack and the other by suicide.

I can find no further information on this - no name has been posted.

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Denmark

Finally got the information.

23-year-old Danish Army Konstabel Alexander Biune was killed in Helmand province on 10th July 2011 by the blast from a roadside bomb. He died in a military field hospital in Camp Bastion after being airlifted by helicopter.

Konstabel Biune served with the Jutland Dragoons based at Holstebro. He joined the army in February 2010.

Head of Danish Battlegroup, Colonel Jens Riis, said of Konstabel Biune: "He trusted himself and everyone felt safe when he took the lead. He lead his mates through perilous areas and did it with a conviction that he was better than anyone. He did until this tragic day for all of us."

Konstabel Biune leaves his parents, his girlfriend and two siblings.

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France

5 French soldiers killed by bomb blast

Five French soldiers have been killed in a bombing in Kapisa province, eastern Afghanistan today 13th July 2011. Four other French soldiers were seriously injured in the attack.

The French troops were guarding a meeting of local leaders in Joybar village when a terrorist detonated a bomb nearby.

More information to follow.

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12 July 2011

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Robert S. Greniger, 21, of Greenfield, Minn., died July 12 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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12 July 2011

20-year-old US Navy Corpsman Aaron Ullom, from Midland, Michigan, was killed in action on 12th July 2011 in Afghanistan. He was serving alongside a US Marine unit which came under insurgent fire.

His mother, Debi Bartley-Ullom, told a local TV news station that her son enlisted in the Navy after a recruiter visited his school. She says he was on his first deployment in Afghanistan.

Corpsman Ullom was a 2009 graduate of Midland High School, where he played football and ran track.

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France

French Paratroop Warrant Officer Jean-Marc Gueniat, age 37, was one of five French soldiers killed on 13th July 2011 while attending a meeting with village elders in the village of Joybar, Kapisa province. They were all killed when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb.

WO Gueniat served with the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment. He joined the Regiment in April 1994 and during his military career served in the Central African Republic, former Yugoslavia, New Caledonia and Ivory Coast.

He deployed to Afghanistan in May this year with the Lafayette Task Force, Battle Group Raptor.

WO Gueniat leaves his wife and two children.

French Master Corporal Sébastien Vermeille, age 31, was one of five French soldiers killed on 13th July 2011 while attending a meeting with village elders in the village of Joybar, Kapisa province. They were all killed when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb.

M-Cpl. Vermeille was a broadcasting operator with the SIRPA Army of Lyon which he joined in 2009. Prior to that he served with the 1st Regiment of Marines in Angoulême. He had previously served in Ivory Coast, Djibouti, New Caledonia, Chad and Kosovo. He deployed to Afghanistan in May this year with Lafayette Task Force, Battle Group Raptor.

M-Cpl. Vermeille leaves behind his wife and two children.

French Army Warrant Officer Emmanuel Techer, age 38, was one of five French soldiers killed on 13th July 2011 while attending a meeting with village elders in the village of Joybar, Kapisa province. They were all killed when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb.

WO Techer, served with the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment. In January 1993 he was admitted to the School of NCOs. Appointed sergeant in 1994, he joined the 17th Engineer Regiment Paratrooper (RGP) of Monta

Until 2007, WO Techer was a technical trainer at the Commando Training Centre in Givet. He later rejoined 17th RGP where he commanded the 2nd Company. During his career, he had deployed on combat missions to Chad (1994 and 2008), Yugoslavia (1995 and 1996), Senegal (1998), Kosovo (1998), New Caledonia (2004). He deployed to Afghanistan in May this year.

WO Techer was awarded the Medal with Overseas clasp Chad, the gold medal of National Defence, with staples Airborne troops, foreign aid and Mission Engineering, the medal of recognition of the nation, the French Commemorative Medal Button former Yugoslavia. He leaves behind his wife.

French Army Warrant Officer Laurent Marsol, age 35, was one of five French soldiers killed on 13th July 2011 while attending a meeting with village elders in the village of Joybar, Kapisa province. They were all killed when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb.

WO Marsol, served with the 1st Parachute Regiment (Chasseurs). In June 1998 he joined the 14th Command Regiment and two years later was admitted to the National School of NCOs. During his military career, WO Marsol had been deployed on active duty to Gabon, Kosovo and Chad. This was his second combat tour of Afghanistan deploying on 14th May.

WO Marsol was awarded the Medal with clasps Overseas Côte d'Ivoire, Central African Republic and Chad, the French Commemorative Medal Button former Yugoslavia, the Gold Medal of National Defence, Button "Airborne" Cross with bronze star.

French Army officer, Lieutenant Thomas Gauvin, age 27, was one of five French soldiers killed on 13th July 2011 while attending a meeting with village elders in the village of Joybar, Kapisa province. They were all killed when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb.

Lt. Gauvin, from Caen, served with the 1st Parachute Regiment (Chasseurs). In September 2005, he began studying at the French Military Academy - Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr - where he was top of his class. In August 2008, he joined the Parachute Regiment.

In 2010, he deployed to Central African Republic and deployed to Afghanistan on 6th May 2011. Lt. Gauvin holds the Bronze Medal of National Defense (Airborne Troops) button. He leaves his wife.