The Human Cost Of War: Honoring The Fallen Special Forces In Afghanistan

The War in Afghanistan, which lasted from October 2001 to August 2021, resulted in the deaths of many special forces soldiers. The United States military suffered 2,459 fatalities, with 1,922 of these being a result of hostile action. The UK's Special Boat Service (SBS) also suffered casualties, with around 70 wounded and at least 13 killed. The US military also reported that 20 soldiers died during combat operations in 2019, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for some of these deaths. In February 2020, two US Special Operations soldiers were killed and six were wounded in an apparent insider attack in Afghanistan.

Sgt. First Class Michael J. Goble, a US Special Forces soldier, was killed by a roadside bomb in 2019

Sgt. First Class Michael J. Goble, a 33-year-old U.S. Special Forces soldier, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on 22 December 2019. Goble was raised in Westwood, New Jersey, and enlisted directly into the U.S. Army as a Special Forces candidate in July 2004. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Goble was a senior intelligence sergeant and was on his third deployment to Afghanistan, having previously served in the country in 2007 and 2008 as a weapons sergeant.

Goble's unit was engaged in combat operations in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, when he suffered fatal injuries from the roadside bomb. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying that a U.S. soldier had been killed by an explosion in the Chardara district of northern Kunduz province. Goble's death marked the 20th U.S. combat death in Afghanistan in 2019, making it the deadliest year for U.S. troops in the country since 2014.

Goble's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor device, the Valorous Unit Award, the Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Basic Airborne, and Military Free Fall Jumpmaster badges. He had also attended a variety of Army schools, including the Special Forces Sniper Course, Military Freefall Advanced Tactical Insertion Course, and the Special Operations Force Surveillance Operator Course.

Goble was remembered by his aunt, Jill Onorato, as a man with a "big heart" who loved his country and his family. Col. John W. Sannes, commander of the 7th Special Forces Group, said that Goble was "more than just a member of the 7th Special Forces Group, he was a brother to us, and a beloved family member to the Northwest Florida community." Goble's remains were returned to the United States and arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Christmas Day.

13 British special forces soldiers were killed in Afghanistan by 2010

In 2010, it was reported that at least 13 British special forces soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan.

The UK's military role in Afghanistan since 2001 has brought with it a heavy human toll. Members of the Army, RAF, Royal Marines, and special forces have lost their lives in the fight against the Taliban.

The number of deaths stands at 456 after two RAF personnel were among five people who died in a helicopter crash on 11 October 2015. Of the total 457 personnel who died while on deployment to Afghanistan, 405 died because of hostile action.

The British war in Afghanistan spanned the tenures of three prime ministers and cost the lives of 453 British service personnel and thousands of Afghans. The war sucked in enormous resources. What was planned as a short-term reconstruction mission turned into a full-blown war.

At its peak, there were 137 UK bases and around 9,500 British troops in Helmand Province alone. Camp Bastion grew to the size of Reading. Its perimeter wall was more than 20 miles long. Its 2.2-mile runway was used to ferry troops and supplies in and out—along with casualties. At the height of the fighting, there were more than 600 flights a day.

The British launched Operation Panther’s Claw, a major operation to provide security for the 2009 presidential election. Britain led the operation, which secured canal and river crossings in Helmand around Lashkar Gah. 2009 would be Britain’s bloodiest year in Afghanistan, with 109 deaths.

20 US troops died during combat operations in 2019

The War in Afghanistan, which lasted from October 2001 to August 2021, resulted in 2,459 United States military deaths. Of these, 1,922 were a result of hostile action, with a further 20,769 American service members wounded in action.

In 2019, 20 US troops died during combat operations in Afghanistan. This was the highest number of US combat deaths in a year since 2014, when the Pentagon announced the "end of combat operations" in the country. The death toll in 2018 was 13, and 11 in 2017.

The death of Sgt. First Class Michael J. Goble, 33, of Washington Township, New Jersey, was the 20th combat death of 2019. Goble was killed by a roadside bomb in Kunduz Province. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which also injured other American and Afghan forces.

The War in Afghanistan has resulted in a high number of casualties, including civilian contractor fatalities, estimated to be around 1,822. The number of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan was approximately 1,750 in 2019, with the number of deaths caused by terrorists rising from 1,952 in 2007 to 8,681 in 2019.

2 US Special Forces soldiers were killed in an apparent insider attack in 2020

On February 8, 2020, two U.S. Special Forces soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez and Sgt. 1st Class Antonio R. Rodriguez, were killed in an apparent insider attack in Afghanistan. The incident, which took place in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province, also left six other U.S. personnel wounded.

Gutierrez and Rodriguez, both 28 years old, were members of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, based out of Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. They were posthumously promoted to sergeant 1st class and awarded Bronze Star medals and Purple Hearts. Their deaths brought the number of U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan that year to four, following the deaths of two paratroopers in a roadside bomb attack in January.

The circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear, but early reports indicated that it may not have been affiliated with the Taliban. An Afghan defense ministry official told the Associated Press that the shooter was an Afghan soldier who had argued with U.S. forces before opening fire. The official stated that the attacker was not a Taliban infiltrator.

U.S. military officials confirmed that an individual in an Afghan uniform opened fire on a combined U.S. and Afghan force with a machine gun. Afghanistan's defense ministry reported that one Afghan soldier was killed and three were injured in the assault. The gunman was also reported to have been killed.

The incident was investigated as a possible insider attack, but no motive was determined. The attack highlighted the dangers faced by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the complex nature of the conflict, where attacks by Afghan security forces on their NATO-led trainers and allies have occurred.

The U.S. military's presence in Afghanistan has been a prolonged engagement, spanning decades and resulting in significant casualties. The war in Afghanistan lasted from October 2001 to August 2021, with a total of 2,459 United States military deaths. The conflict saw a high number of hostile actions, with 1,922 deaths resulting from direct enemy engagement.

2,459 US military deaths occurred during the War in Afghanistan

The War in Afghanistan, which lasted from October 2001 to August 2021, claimed the lives of 2,459 US military personnel. This figure includes deaths that occurred in Africa, Southeast Asia, or Cuba in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom's Sentinel. Of the 2,459 deaths, 1,922 were a result of hostile action, while 534 were non-hostile, and 3 are pending classification.

The war also saw 18 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives lose their lives, along with 1,822 civilian contractors. The true toll, however, may be even higher. The Pentagon has not released a full accounting of contractor deaths, and the majority of US contractors are citizens of other countries, making it less likely that their deaths are reported.

The war in Afghanistan has had a profound impact on the lives of those who served, with many veterans struggling with psychological problems that have led to high suicide rates. The invisible wounds of war, such as PTSD, have claimed the lives of over 30,177 service members and veterans—more than four times the number of combat deaths.

The US military was not alone in its sacrifices. Coalition partners, including uniformed personnel from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria, also suffered approximately 177,000 fatalities as of November 2019. The war has extracted a heavy toll, and the true extent of the losses may never be fully known.

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