Minnesotan among service members killed in Afghanistan attack

■ Staff Sergeant Michael A. Cinco, 28, of Mercedes, Texas, with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

The Associated Press reports that the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Vorderbruggen’s hometown was listed as Plymouth, according to military records.

In other words, Heather and Jacob will attend the solemn ceremony when Vorderbruggen’s flag-draped casket is returned to Dover Air Force base as a war hero.

Peter Taub’s family wasn’t aware he was in Afghanistan when they got word he had died there, CNN affiliate WPVI of Philadelphia reported.

Taub was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 816, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.

Chester McBride, a star football player at his high school in Georgia, joined the Air Force after graduating from Savannah State University.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation headquarters in Kabul confirmed there had been a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack near Bagram Air Base and said it was under investigation.

Bonacasa was assigned to the 105th Security Forces Squadron at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York.

Authorities said Lemm and Bonacasa are the 34th and 35th members of the New York National Guard to die in combat since the attacks of September 11, 2001. “This tragedy is a sobering reminder of why it’s important that our service members and their families be recognized for who they really are; gay, straight, transgender, all deserve honor for their sacrifice”. Our friend, Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen, was killed while serving in Afghanistan. She had long championed the repeal of the military’s “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy – a change that now makes her wife and son eligible for military benefits.

The shift, which Afghan officials said included about 40 people, follows an influx of US Special Operations forces that deployed to Helmand when the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, was on the verge of falling several weeks ago. Under “don’t ask, don’t tell” Vorderbruggen could not tell her superiors she needed leave to help deliver her son.

She graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2002, then earned her master’s at George Washington University, according to her social media accounts.

President Obama announced in October, his decision to keep 10,000 USA troops in Afghanistan through most of 2016, saying handing over security exclusively to Afghan forces was too much of a risk.

“Her death in some ways signifies women, gays and lesbians are truly equal”, Dunning said.