The Department of Defense (DOD) announced on Tuesday, the names of the six soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Sunday, among them an army specialist from Orlando.
Specialist Patrick D. Deans, 22 years, of Orlando, along with five other soldiers, was killed when insurgents attacked their unit with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The soldiers, who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, died in Kandahar Province.
Florida also sustained another casualty as a result of the blast. Specialist Jorge E. Villacis, 24, of Sunrise, Florida was also killed.
The other soldiers who lost their lives on Sunday were: Corporal Sean M. Collins, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; Corporal Willie A. McLawhorn Jr., 23, of Conway, North Carolina; Specialist Kenneth E. Necochea Jr., 32, of San Diego, California; Specialist Derek T. Simonetta, 21, of Redwood City, California.
The soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team and 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Meanwhile, ahead of a much-awaited report on the progress of the war in Afghanistan, there is great uncertainty that the U.S. will be successful, notwithstanding President Obama’s troop build-up one year ago, in December 2009. Then, Obama ordered 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to battle the Taliban, making for a U.S. troop strength of almost 100,000.
After more than nine years of war, the U.S. has largely failed to secure Afghanistan. Mr. Obama had given a commitment to allow U.S. soldiers to start withdrawing by the summer of 2011, although that time-line could slip.
The progress report will be released to the public on Thursday.
