update of sorts

Mark asked me to post about this...

Many of you know that I was expecting Mark to come online to chat with the people who were over for the packaging. He told me exactly when he was going to come online, so I expected him around that time, if not sometime that day. He didn't end up coming on at all Saturday, and then did not come online again Sunday. I knew something was up on Saturday, because it was not like him to not show up on Skype, call or e-mail me about what happened.

I heard from him today, and he told me that they had a "communications blackout," which means that they shut down any and all outside communication for the soldiers. They do that when a soldier dies because they do not want their family to find out via internet that their child/ spouse etc. has passed. The guy who died was in a truck with another soldier when they drove over an IED. One of the soldiers lived and was minimally hurt, and Mark said that they were told it was likely because he was buckled in. Their truck did not explode, but was definitely shaken enough that the soldier who wasn't buckled flew around in the truck, ending up breaking his back and having severe internal bleeding. He lived for two or so days after the incident, but died in transit to a base where he could have been taken care of better. The guy was in Mark's unit and was stationed out of Chisholm with Mark. For those who don't know, Mark is in a transportation unit that transports ammunition and vehicles I think. Anyways, really really sad. Pray for their family, I can't and don't want to ever imagine what they must be feeling.

Here is an article that Lyle found...
2 Minnesotans killed in Afghanistan
A Marine and Army National Guard member died as a result of improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan.
By VINCE TUSS, Star Tribune
Last update: October 13, 2009 - 7:27 AM
Two military men from northern Minnesota -- a Marine and a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard -- have been killed in Afghanistan, military officials and family members said Monday.
Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron Taylor, 27, died Friday, said his father, Clifford, of Two Harbors. The death has not yet been announced by the Defense Department.
Army National Guard Specialist George W. Cauley, 24, of Walker, died Saturday, according to the Pentagon.
Taylor was killed by an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol in Helmand Province, his father said. He specialized in explosive ordnance disposal, an extremely dangerous duty that concerned his family, but motivated him.
"He was the type of guy who when he found what he wanted to do, he dove right in and learned everything about it," his father said.
He was based at Camp Pendleton in California and also had completed a tour in Iraq. He had been in Afghanistan for six weeks.
"He knew that we were concerned and he was trying to reassure us that he was doing good work with a good group of people," said Clifford Taylor, who last spoke to his son about a week ago. "He was confident that he'd be fine."
Aaron Taylor was born in Duluth, grew up in Bovey and graduated from Greenway High School in Coleraine in 2000. There, he played in the jazz and pep bands, wrestled and managed the hockey team.
"He was just a likable, personable guy. Everyone who knew him just loved him," his father said. "If the Taliban had met him, I'm sure they would have liked him."
Funeral services were pending. Taylor's body is in Dover, Del., and is expected to be returned to Minnesota in the next few days.
Cauley was hurt Wednesday in Helmand Province when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device, the Defense Department said. He died of his wounds three days later in Bagram.
He was a 2003 graduate of Northland High School in Remer, according to his Facebook page. Calls to family members were not returned.
Cauley was a member of the Guard's 114th Truck Company, based in Duluth. The company had 187 soldiers mobilized in June, said Maj. Patricia Baker, a public affairs officer for the Minnesota Guard. The one-year deployment included training in Indiana before leaving for Afghanistan, Baker said.
The mission was moving supplies by ground throughout Afghanistan and providing convoy security, according to a statement from the Guard in April, when the deployment was announced. The company uses a Palletized Load System, a kind of heavy truck, to move large amounts of cargo, Baker said.
The investigation into Cauley's death continues in Afghanistan, Baker said.
It comes a week after the death of a Guardsman in Iraq from noncombat injuries. Maj. Tad Hervas, 48, of Coon Rapids, died in Basra. He was assigned to the 34th Infantry Division, based in Rosemount.
In July, three state Guard members were killed by rocket attack on their base near Basra, Iraq. Specialist Daniel Drevnick, 22, of Woodbury; Specialist James Wertish, 20, of rural Olivia, and Specialist Carlos Wilcox IV, 27, of Cottage Grove were members of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division and assigned to the 34th Military Police Company, based in Stillwater.

I thought this link was interesting. It is the demographics of their unit http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/assets/114th_TC_Deployment_Information.pdf

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