Twelve JBLM soldiers killed in Afghanistan since January

An Army combat engineer has become the 12th Washington-based soldier to die in Afghanistan this year. The pace of deaths has picked up in recent weeks as the summer fighting season begins.

The Army says Sgt. 1st Class Barett McNabb was killed by an improvised explosive device. He was on his fourth deployment, but his first to Afghanistan.

McNabb is just the latest soldier from Washington’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord to die in Afghanistan. May was the deadliest month so far this year with six soldier deaths.

Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield has the grim duty of sending out the public announcement when a Lewis-McChord soldier is killed.

“The sad truth is we’ve lost some great Americans and all we can continue to do is carry their memory forward," Dangerfield says. "Our hearts and minds go out to their family. We definitely offer our deepest condolences to all the fallen troops.”

Currently, some 10,000 Lewis-McChord soldiers are deployed to Afghanistan. This includes two Stryker Brigades known for their eight-wheeled combat vehicles. Even though the U.S. is drawing down troops in Afghanistan, another local Stryker Brigade is training to deploy this fall.

Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network

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