7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Assignment: Company A, 2nd Battalion
ODA:
18 B
Date KIA: 29 March 2003 OEF
Location: Gereshk, Afghanistan
Action: Hostile - Small Arms
Staff Sgt. Orlando Morales was a Special Forces weapons sergeant assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C.
He was killed in action during an ambush in Gereshk, Afghanistan on March 29, 2003. His unit was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Morales was born on May 23, 1969. A native of Orocovis, Puerto Rico, he enlisted in the Army on Oct. 23, 1996 as an infantryman.
In November 2002, Morales completed the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to Co. A, 2nd Bn., 7th SFG.
His military education includes the Infantry Basic Course, the Basic Airborne Course, the Air Assault School, the Combat Lifesaver Course, the Special Forces Qualification Course, the U.S. Army Ranger Course, the Primary Leadership Development Course and the Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course.
Awards: Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge. He also earned the Parachutist Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Ranger Tab and the Special Forces Tab.
Morales is survived by his wife, Maria, and one daughter, Angelina.
3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Assignment: Company C, 2nd Battalion
ODA:
18 C
Date KIA: 29 August 2003
Location: Deh Chopan, Zabul Province, Afghanistan
Action: Accident - Fast Rope Infiltration
Sgt. 1st Class Mitchell A. Lane, 34, was a Special Forces engineer sergeant assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C.
He died from injuries he suffered from a fall while conducting a fast rope infiltration from a helicopter during a night combat assault Aug. 29, 2003 near Deh Chopan in Afghanistan’s Zabul province.
A native of California, Lane enlisted in the Army National Guard in May 1987. He later volunteered for active duty as a combat engineer in October 1991. He subsequently served in a number of engineer units at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., until he was selected for Special Forces training in 1995.
After completion of the Special Forces Qualification Course, Lane served in several assignments with the 3rd SFG.
Awards: Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Scuba Diver Badge and the Special Forces Tab.
Lane is survived by his wife, two children, his parents and three brothers.
5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Assignment: Company B, 3rd Battalion
ODA:
18 D
Date KIA: 12 September 2003 OIF
Location: Ar-Ramadi, Iraq
Action: Hostile
Sgt. 1st Class William M. Bennett was a Special Forces medical sergeant assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Campbell, Ky. He was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom on Sept. 12, 2003 near the town of Ar-Ramadi in Iraq.
A native of Tennessee, Bennett was born on March 18, 1968. He entered the Army in December 1986 and completed bridge crewmember training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. His first assignment in the Army was to the 11th Engineer Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Va.
Bennett completed Army diver training in 1989 at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center at Panama City, Fla., and was then assigned to the 7th Engineer Detachment, Fort Kobbe, Panama, where he participated in combat actions during Operation Just Cause.
After deploying to Saudi Arabia in 1991 to participate in Operation Desert Storm, Bennett volunteered for Special Forces training in 1992. In 1994, he graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg, N.C. He went on to study Arabic at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N.C.
He was assigned to the 5th SFG in July 1995, where he participated in numerous overseas deployments to include combat operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with valor device, the Army Commendation Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Good Conduct Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Achievement Medal, the Combat Medical Badge, the Second Class Diver Badge, the Special Forces Tab, the Military Freefall Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, and the United Arab Emirates Parachute Badge.
Bennett is survived by his wife, Allison; his son, Seth; his aunt and uncle, Mike and Carolyn Wood; and his parents, Leonard and Kathleen Bennett.
5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Assignment: Company C, 2nd Battalion
ODA:
18 Z
Date KIA: 12 September 2003
Location: Ar Ramadi, Iraq
Action: Hostile
Master Sgt. Kevin N. Morehead was a Special Forces team sergeant assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Campbell, Ky. A native of Arkansas, he graduated from Little Rock’s Central High School in 1987. Morehead began his Army career in March 1989 and completed initial entry training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as a combat medic.
After participating in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Morehead volunteered for Special Forces training and in 1994 completed the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg, N.C.
After studying Arabic at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., Morehead was subsequently assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), where he participated in numerous overseas deployments to include combat operations in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Morehead’s military education includes the Combat Medic Course, the Basic Airborne Course, the Special Forces Qualification Course, the Combat Diver Qualification Course, the Primary Leadership Development Course and the Basic and Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Courses.
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with valor device, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal, the Combat Medical Badge, the Expert Field Medical Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Scuba Diver Badge, the Driver Badge, the Kenyan Parachutist Badge, the Ranger tab and the Special Forces tab.
Morehead is survived by his wife, Theresa.
3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Assignment: Company A, 3rd Battalion
ODA:
18 E
Date KIA: 30 October 2003
Location: Musa, Qalax, Afghanistan
Action: Hostile
Staff Sgt. Paul A. Sweeney was a Special Forces communications sergeant assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C.
He was killed Oct. 30, 2003 when his unit was ambushed while on patrol north of Musa, Qalax in Afghanistan.
In September 2000, he attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and went on to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course, completing the Special Forces Communications Sergeant’s Course in 2001.
Before joining Special Forces, Sweeney was assigned as a Bradley fighting vehicle crewmember at Fort Lewis, Wash., camps Casey and Humphreys in the Republic of Korea and Fort Hood, Texas.
His military education includes the Primary Leadership Development, Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, and the Basic Airborne Course.
Awards: Army Commendation Medal, Purple Heart, the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces tab.
Sweeney is survived by his wife, Kristen, and two sons, Ryan and Sean. His father, Thomas Sweeney, lives in Kissimmee, Fla., and his mother, Janet Bowen, resides in Lakeville, Pa.
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