5 from Carson killed in Mosul

Five soldiers killed Monday in an attack on a military convoy in Mosul, Iraq, were identified Wednesday as being from Fort Carson.

The soldiers, according to news reports from the scene, were part of a joint patrol of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers that was attacked about 12:40 p.m. in the Somer neighborhood of southeastern Mosul.

Maj. Gary Dangerfield, a U.S. military spokesman in Mosul, told Iraq-based media this week that Sunni insurgents began firing at the convoy from a nearby mosque. The soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near them.

As black smoke rose from a damaged vehicle, a fierce gunbattle ensued. American soldiers cordoned off the neighborhood and helicopters circled overhead, according to witnesses. The U.S. military said that by the time Iraqi soldiers searched the mosque, the gunmen had fled.

The five soldiers killed in the attack were from B Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

The dead were identified as:

- Sgt. James E. Craig, 26, Hollywood, S.C.

- Staff Sgt. Gary W. Jeffries, 37, Roscoe, Texas.

- Spc. Evan A. Marshall, 21, Athens, Ga.

- Pfc. Brandon A. Meyer, 20, Orange, Calif.

- Pvt. Joshua A. R. Young, 21, Riddle, Ore.

The deaths were the first for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team since it returned to Iraq in November, its third deployment since the war began in 2003.

The death toll from the attack this week was the second time the Mountain Post has lost five soldiers in a single incident. In late June, Fort Carson’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division lost five soldiers when they were ambushed by insurgents in Baghdad.

Gazette records indicate the post has lost four soldiers in single attacks several times since the war began.

U.S. and military officials have become increasingly concerned that insurgents have fled to Mosul after being pushed out of more heavily patrolled areas such as Baghdad and Anbar province. The insurgents have set up base camps and stockpiled weapons in the countryside around Mosul, Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, the top U.S. military commander in the region, told the Washington Post this week.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki last week announced a major offensive against Mosul and sent troops and tanks to Iraq’s third-largest city. Mosul is about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.

Members of Fort Carson’s 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry were sent to the area to back up a major offensive in the Ninewa province by the Fort Hood, Texas-based 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

The soldiers, with Iraqi security forces in the lead, are charged with improving security in the province, either by killing or capturing insurgents, said Karen Linne, media relations chief at Fort Carson.

Soldiers of the Carson battalion also are helping in civil military operations by providing security at reconstruction projects, according to Dangerfield, 3rd ACR public affairs officer in Mosul.

The Gazette was unsuccessful Monday night in reaching the families of the five soldiers.

Marshall’s family told their hometown newspaper, the Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald, that the 21-year-old was on his second tour in Iraq.

Marshall joined the Army in June 2004 soon after graduating from Cedar Shoals High School.

The decision surprised the family, Marshall’s father, Drew, told the newspaper: “So far as I’m able to tell, his motives were that he wanted to serve his country, and he wanted to do something that was hard and challenging.”

He matured in the Army, according to Tom Granum, music director at Athens First Presbyterian Church, which Marshall attended.

“It gave him a direction in life that he was looking for,” Granum told the Banner-Herald. “It was in the Army that he really seemed to blossom.”

Department of Defense records for the five include the following information:

- Marshall joined the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in October 2004. He had served in Iraq from December 2005 to November 2006 and had returned for his second tour in December.

He had received the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal (3), the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Drivers/Mechanics Badge.

Marshall was born June 2, 1986.

- Pfc. Brandon Meyer had been in the Army for a little more than a year, joining on Jan. 18, 2007. He came to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in June. He would have turned 21 Saturday.

- Pvt. Joshua Young joined the Army on May 3, 2007, and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team in September. He was deployed to Iraq in December. He was born Aug. 8, 1986.

- Staff Sgt. Gary Jeffries entered the Army in April 1997 and joined the 3rd Brigade Combat team in April 2001. He served in Korea from March 2000 to March 2001. He was deployed to Iraq from March 2003 to March 2004 and from December 2005 to November 2006. He returned to Iraq in December for his third deployment.

He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with “V” device, the Army Commendation Medal (2), the Army Achievement Medal (5), the Army Good Conduct Medal (3), the National Defense Service Medal, the Korea Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (2), the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

- Sgt. James Craig entered the Army in June 2000 and joined the 3rd Brigade Combat team in September 2003. He served in Iraq from December 2005 to November 2006 and returned for his second tour in November.

He was born Dec. 12, 1981.

He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal (2), the Army Achievement Medal (4), the Army Good Conduct Medal (2), the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge.

His MySpace.com page featured a photo of him smiling in his dress uniform, dancing with a bride.

Of the 233 Fort Carson soldiers killed in Iraq, 28 were in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

Reporters Bill Vogrin, Jennifer Wilson and Perry Swanson contributed to this report.