Operation Iraqi Freedom, Fallen Heroes, Iraq War 03/19/03

Kip A Jacoby

Pompano Beach, Florida

June 28, 2005

Age Military Rank Unit/Location
21 Army Sgt

Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)

Hunter Army Air Field, Georgia

 Killed while conducting combat operations when the MH-47 helicopter that they were aboard crashed in the vicinity of Asadabad, Afghanistan in Kumar Province

DATE POSTED: JULY 1, 2005

PRESS RELEASE: Helicopter crash kills three officers, five special operations Soldiers

U.S. Army Special Operations Command Public Affairs Office

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, July 1, 2005) — An MH-47D Chinook helicopter crashed June 28, 2005 near Asadabad, Afghanistan, killing three special operations officers and five special operations Soldiers from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) while conducting combat operations in support of Operation Red Wing.

Maj. Stephen C. Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Conn., Chief Warrant Officer Chris J. Scherkenbach, 40, of Jacksonville, Fla., Warrant Officer Corey J. Goodnature ,35, of Clarks Grove, Minn., Sgt. 1st Class Marcus V. Muralles, 33, of Shelbyville, Ind., Sgt. 1st Class Michael L. Russell, 31, of Stafford, Va., Staff Sgt. Shamus O. Goare, 29, of Ohio and Sgt. Kip A. Jacoby, 21, of Pompano Beach, Fla., were killed when the helicopter was struck by an enemy rocket propelled grenade in the country’s Kunar province. All were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) based at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

Sgt. 1st Class James W. Ponder, III, 36, of Franklin, Tenn., was killed as a result of the crash. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 160th SOAR(A) based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

The officers and Soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Afghan National Army and Coalition forces remain actively engaged in Operation Red Wing, an effort to defeat terrorists operating in Kunar province. The operation is part of a larger spring campaign by U.S. and Afghan forces to kill and capture fighters from hideouts in the east and south of Afghanistan.

The MH-47 conducts overt and covert infiltrations, exfiltrations, air assault, resupply, and sling operations over a wide range of environmental conditions. With the use of special mission equipment and night vision devices, the air crew can operate in hostile mission environments over all types of terrain at low altitudes, and during periods of low visibility.

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