An Army soldier from Reinbeck has died in Afghanistan, defense officials said Saturday.

Command Sgt. Maj. John Keith Laborde, 53, died Thursday at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan in an incident not linked to combat, according to officials.

Details about the incident have not been released.

Laborde was part of the 649th Regional Support Group in Cedar Rapids.

1st Lt. Michael Meyer of the 103rd Expeditionary Support Command confirmed the death. Command Sergeant Major Laborde led a distinguished career of over 31 years in the military. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family here in Iowa, and to his comrades-in-arms still serving in Afghanistan,” Meyer said in a statement.  Read more... (360 words, 1 image, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

A SOLDIER from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment has died after an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said today, marking the first fatality in 2010.

The soldier, who has not yet been named, was killed on foot patrol in the Nad-e Ali area, Helmand Province, Afghanistan yesterday afternoon.

Next of kin have been informed.

His death – which is the first British fatality in Afghanistan since the turn of the New Year – takes the number of British service personnel who have died since the start of operations in the war-torn country in 2001 to 246.  Read more... (204 words, 1 image, estimated 49 secs reading time)

It is reported by the BBC yesterday that the Islamic Group Islam4UK propose to march through the streets of Wootton Bassett in protest at the way this remarkable town and its inhabitants mark the passing through of our war dead, on route home from far flung parts of the world including and mainly Afghanistan to their final rest. While I support the right of all British people to make peaceable protests about almost any subject under the sun I cannot in any way support this proposed march or allow it to proceed. When I speak of the British People I am of course refering to all those people of whatever race, religion, political view etc who support British values and the British way of life. It is clear to me that members of this organisation do not hold the same view, however I support their right, however mistaken, to try by peaceable means in appropriate ways to seek to bring about change, this proposed march however is certainly not appropriate.  Read more... (591 words, 1 image, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

A soldier who died in an explosion while on patrol in Afghanistan is due to be named.

The soldier, from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed on Sunday afternoon in the blast in the Kajaki area of Helmand province.

His family has been told.

Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: “It is my sad duty to inform you that a British soldier from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles was killed.

“He was caught by an explosion while on patrol in the Kajaki area of Helmand province. His courage and his sacrifice will not be forgotten.”  Read more... (119 words, 1 image, estimated 29 secs reading time)

A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The soldier, from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed while on patrol in the Kajaki area of Helmand province during Monday afternoon.

His next of kin have been informed of his death, which brings the number of UK soldiers killed in the conflict since 2001 to 244.

A spokesman said: “His courage and his sacrifice will not be forgotten.”

Of the 244 deaths since the war began, 107 have happened in 2009 alone.  Read more... (129 words, 1 image, estimated 31 secs reading time)

More and more British troops are being saved at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan as Taliban steps up its assaults

They are known by the medics at Camp Bastion as “Holy Shit Sundays”, the darkest day of the week when the Taliban are most likely to strike. A popular theory going round the British forces‘ headquarters in Afghanistan holds that the Taliban stop for Friday prayers, plan their attacks on Saturday and carry them out the following day. And they are doing so with increasing regularity.  Read more... (1510 words, 1 image, estimated 6:02 mins reading time)

Lt-Col Simon Banton recalls the day one of his soldiers died recovering the body of an Afghan colleague in Helmand

That morning, a joint patrol of 30 Afghan warriors and their British mentors headed south from the Forward Operating Base Keenan in Zumbelay, in Helmand Province. The crops in the fields were up to 8ft high and visibility was heavily restricted. It is dangerous territory. The tracks are sown with dozens of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and patrols are frequently ambushed by the Taliban.  Read more... (544 words, 1 image, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

For millions of us, 2009 will be a year to forget. Twelve months of credit crunch. Lost jobs and homes, no deposit for a mortgage, punishing youth unemployment, greedy MPs and immoral bankers.

From Afghanistan this country has borne a weekly death toll which stands at 106 so far this year – and which will inevitably outstrip the tally of the Falklands War.

You would be forgiven for wishing away the final days of December.

But we shouldn’t lose sight of the best moments – great triumphs of the human spirit.  Read more... (235 words, 1 image, estimated 56 secs reading time)

Originally published October 2, 2009

The men of Bravo Company have a bitter description for the irrigated swath of land along the Arghandab River in Afghanistan, where 10 members of their battalion have been killed since the beginning of August: “Like Vietnam without the napalm.”

By Hal Bernton
The Seattle Times

JELAWUR, Afghanistan — The men of Bravo Company have a bitter description for the irrigated swath of land along the Arghandab River where 10 members of their battalion have been killed and 30 have been wounded since the beginning of August.  Read more... (1082 words, 1 image, estimated 4:20 mins reading time)

Lt-Col Simon Banton recalls the day one of his soldiers died recovering the body of an Afghan colleague in Helmand

That morning, a joint patrol of 30 Afghan warriors and their British mentors headed south from the Forward Operating Base Keenan in Zumbelay, in Helmand Province. The crops in the fields were up to 8ft high and visibility was heavily restricted. It is dangerous territory. The tracks are sown with dozens of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and patrols are frequently ambushed by the Taliban.  Read more... (544 words, 1 image, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)