DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

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

Sgt. Michael C. Roy, 25, of North Fort Myers, Fla., died July 8 while supporting combat operations in Nimroz province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3d Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Advisor Group, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

July 08, 2009

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc. Nicolas H. J. Gideon, 20, of Murrieta, Calif., died July 6 at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered earlier that day in Paktya, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Capt. Mark A. Garner, 30, of North Carolina, died July 6 in Argandab District, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels, Germany.

Spc. Christopher M. Talbert, 24, of Galesburg, Ill., died July 7 in Shindad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, Marion, Ill.

Afghanistan Photo War 4 Part 4

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. look for where enemy fire is coming from on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. manuever to where gunfire was coming from on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. take cover as mortar fire flies overhead on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. clear a compound after coming under fire on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. clear a compound after coming under fire on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

A U.S. soldier of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division smokes near his MRAP vehicle before going for a night mission on the Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 9, 2009. Reuters

In this undated photo released July 9, 2009 by the Illinois National Guard, Spc. Christopher Talbert, 24, of Galesburg, Ill. , is shown. Talbert died Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in an attack near Shinbad, Afghanistan. Talbert was a member of the Guard's 33rd Infantry Brigade. AP

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers return from a mission to Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 9, 2009. Reuters

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. fires his weapon after seeing an enemy fighter on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. clear a compound after coming under fire on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. looks to see where enemy fire is coming from on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. search a compound as they look for where enemy fire is coming from on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. take cover while under fire on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. is seen during a firefight on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. manuever into position to search a home on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. rests after a fire fight on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. rush to clear a home on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. jump over a canal as they manuever on to where gunfire is coming from on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

A U.S. soldier of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division secures an area around temporary checkpoint on a road in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 9, 2009. Reuters

A U.S. soldier of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division looks out of a Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) before departing for a night patrol at Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan in this July 8, 2009 picture. Reuters

A U.S. soldier of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division secures an area around a temporary checkpoint on a road in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 9, 2009. Reuters

A U.S. soldier of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division is silhouetted against the moon while preparing for a predawn mission at Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 9, 2009. Reuters

U.S. soldiers of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division prepare for a predawn mission in front of MRAP vehicles at Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 9, 2009. Reuters

Members of the security detail for Karl Eikenberry, US Ambassador to Afghanistan, stand in front of a U.S. army Chinook helicopter as it lands near a newly constructed bridge south of Tarin Kot, in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan July 9, 2009. Reuters

An Afghan family and their donkeys walk past a U.S. Army MRAP vehicle on a temporary checkpoint on a road in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 9, 2009. Reuters

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 9: A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. covers the doors and windows of a building as they clear it on July 9, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines sleep in their fighting holes inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday July 8, 2009. AP

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines sleep in their fighting holes inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday July 8, 2009. AP

In this undated photo provided by the Illinois National Guard, 1st Lt. Derwin Williams, 41, of Glenwood, Ill. , is shown. Williams was killed Monday, July 6, 2009, when the vehicle he was in hit a roadside bomb in Kandu, Afghanistan. AP

In this undated photo provided by the Illinois National Guard, Spc. Chester Hosford, 35, of Ottawa, Ill. , is shown. Hosford was killed Monday, July 6, 2009, when the vehicle he was in hit a roadside bomb in Kandu, Afghanistan. AP

Soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) drive on their pick-up trucks while searching for pro-Taliban fighters in Kuk Cenar, Baghlan province, northern Afghanistan, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The province's only ANA battalion started an operation Wednesday to search for insurgents in the Qandahari Valley with the assistance the Ohio National Guard and the Hungarian Army. AP

An Afghan police officers is seen during a search operation for pro-Taliban fighters in Kuk Cenar, in Baghlan province, northern Afghanistan, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. AP

Nicholson:

All right, next question, water. Yeah, this thing popped today. I'm not sure where it came from. I know that the number-one threat to us right now is the heat. And I was out in it most of today, down at Khan Neshin. It's -- it's -- it's just hot as fire down there.

Let me answer -- get back to the water thing. We spend -- we understand the number one threat here right now today is not the Taliban, it's the heat. And as I said, it is hot as fire. Every day we've got helicopters, day and night, pushing all manner of logistics, but especially pallets of water to the Marines. I am more than confident -- and I stay in touch with my commanders down there -- I am more than confident that we're getting the amount of water they need in a timely manner. No one is going without water.

My problem, and what I'm fussing about with my staff, is that the water's not cold. We need to freeze that water. We need to deliver water that's pretty well frozen. It will thaw out very quickly. So we're working on that.

Bravo Company commander Cpt. Drew Schoenmaker of the U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines shaves his face and head inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. AP

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines load water that was dropped by helicopter during a resupply to the compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. AP

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines are seen shortly after waking up inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. AP

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines watch as a helicopter drops an emergency water resupply outside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. AP

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 08: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. fire a mortar after Marines came under fire on July 8, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

1st Sgt David Gill from Alliance, Oh of the OMLT Team Orthos from 1-145AR RGT, left, and Hungarian military adviser SFC Otto Szatmari, right, look at a hill while searching for pro-Taliban fighters near Kuk Cenar, Baghlan province of northern Afghanistan, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The province's Afghan National Army (ANA) battalion started an operation Wednesday to search for insurgents in the Qandahari Valley with the assistance the Ohio National Guard and the Hungarian Army. AP

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 8: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. sleep together in an empty school that the Marines took over on July 8, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

The tattoo of a U.S. Marine from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marine, is seen through a hole on the back of his uniform shirt, as he stands guard at a compound in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. AP

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines stop two Afghan bicyclists to speak with them, at a U.S. Marine checkpoint in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. AP

U.S. Private Joshua Ladd of the 4-25FA Battalion, 3 Brigade, 10th Mountain Division registers targets to respond to possible attacks on the Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 8, 2009. Reuters

U.S. Private Jeremy Houle of 3rd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division plays a guitar on the Combat Operation Outpost Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 8, 2009. Reuters

U.S. soldiers of 3rd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division smoke on top of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle during a short break on the Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan July 8, 2009. Reuters

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Sowers, left, with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, and Sgt. Maj. Angela Maness, right, with Combat Logistical Battalion 8, take part in a security patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers and Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - Afghanistan in the Nawa District bazaar in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2009. The Marines are deployed to support NATO's International Security Assistance Force and will participate in counterinsurgency operations. They will train and mentor Afghan National Security Forces to improve security and stability in the country. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Paul McKenna, left, the sergeant major of Regimental Combat Team 3 (RCT 3); Col. Duffy White, center, commander of RCT 3; and Lt. Col. William McCollough, commander of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, take part in a security patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers and Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - Afghanistan in the Nawa District bazaar in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, right, the commander of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - Afghanistan, talks with Lt. Col. William McCollough, the commander of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, July 6, 2009, at Patrol Base Jaker in the Nawa district of the Helmand province of Afghanistan. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson, U.S. Marine Corps/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Dee Rosser, left, operations officer of Regimental Combat Team 3, and Ian Purves, center, a stabilization adviser with Provincial Reconstruction Team-Helmand, take part in a security patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers and Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - Afghanistan in the Nawa District bazaar in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)

U.S. Marines assigned to the civil affairs group with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - Afghanistan survey a destroyed compound in the Nawa District bazaar in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, July 6, 2009. An Afghan man claims that a rocket-propelled grenade destroyed his home and burned his land. The Marines are deployed to support NATO's International Security Assistance Force and will participate in counterinsurgency operations. They will also train and mentor Afghan National Security Forces to improve security and stability in the country. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Brit Gurung, a multichannel equipment operator with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - Afghanistan, provides security during a patrol with the Afghan National Army through the Nawa District bazaar in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, July 6, 2009. Due to the increased number of security patrols in the area, more locals are seen walking around the district. The Marines are deployed in support of NATO's International Security Assistance Force and will participate in counter-insurgency operations, and the training and mentoring of Afghan security forces to improve security and stability in Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Arthur Hernandez, an intelligence analyst with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - Afghanistan, provides security during a patrol with the Afghan National Army through the Nawa District bazaar in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, July 6, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Dwayne Goins, a multichannel equipment operator with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade - Afghanistan, provides security during a patrol with the Afghan National Army through the Nawa District bazaar in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, July 6, 2009. Due to the increased number of security patrols in the area, more locals are seen walking around the district. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 7: A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a defensive position as he patrols through a village on July 7, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 7: U.S. Marine Corporal Taly Ramirez of St. Paul, Minnesota from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. uses some downtime to fish in a canal on July 7, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

French soldiers of the NATO-led coalition secure area around temporary check point on a road in mountains of Wardak province in Afghanistan July 7, 2009. Reuters [Bolt-action rifle, probably sniper.]

A French soldier of the NATO-led coalition prepares for a mission with U.S. troops and Afghan National Army in mountains of Wardak province in Afghanistan July 7, 2009. Reuters

A French soldier of the NATO-led coalition secures an area around a temporary check point on a road in the mountains of Wardak province in Afghanistan July 7, 2009. Reuters

DJ Ashiqullah works at the Garmsir radio station in Helmand province July 7, 2009. The DJs of Radio Garmsir in Afghanistan's lower Helmand River valley knew their station had touched a nerve when the letters started pouring in. First a few, then more, and pretty soon 20 to 30 letters per day, hand delivered to a box outside the NATO base where they broadcast deep into Taliban territory from a desk in a tiny bunker. Reuters

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 7: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. stack sandbags in the windows of their new post on July 7, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

MIAN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 7: U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. duck for cover after a mortar on July 7, 2009 in Mian Poshteh, Afghanistan. Getty

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines reach the end of a patrol in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province Tuesday July 7, 2009. AP

A U.S. Marine from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines carries his weapon on his shoulders as they reach the end of a patrol in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province Tuesday July 7, 2009. AP

Afghan pupils surround a U.S. soldier of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, in a school in the village of Sangarkhel in mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2009. U.S. troops and Afghan National Army soldiers visited school to distribute leaflets and school supplies. Reuters

An Afghan boy waves at U.S. soldiers of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, patrolling in the village of Sangarkhel in mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2009. Reuters

U.S. soldiers of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, patrol in the village of Sangarkhel in mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2009. Reuters

U.S. soldiers of 2nd Platoon from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, patrol in the village of Sangarkhel in mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2009. Reuters