Re: Iraq/Afghanistan/GWOT Memorial thread
Sergeant First Class Tung Nguyen was born in Can Tho, Vietnam, became a U.S. citizen, and was raised in Tracy, Calif. He was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C. and deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He died of a gunshot wound during Combat Operations Nov. 14, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq.
He entered military service in July, 1986 as an Infantryman with the 4th Bn., 22d Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. After three years of service he left active duty and served with the Army Reserve in Sacramento, Calif. In 1991, he reentered active duty, and served with the 1st Bn., 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), at Fort Campbell, Ky., for one year before volunteering for Special Forces training.
He began his journey to become a Special Forces Soldier in 1992 and earned the coveted Green Beret when he graduated from the course in 1993. He was assigned to 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Lewis, Wash., that year and served in all three combat battalions during his tenure there, first as a communications sergeant and then as an intelligence sergeant.
In 2003 he was chosen to become an instructor at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. He served in both instructor and operations positions preparing Special Forces Soldiers for the rigors of combat until February 2006 when he was assigned to 3rd SFG, where he served until his death.
His military education also includes the Special Operations and Target Interdiction Course; Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course; Warrior Leaders Course; Nuclear Hazards Training Course; Basic Airborne Course; Air Assault Course; Basic and Anti-Terrorism Instructor Courses; Basic and Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Courses; and Combat Lifesaver Course.
He was the 2006 All-Army Sniper Champion and the 2006 Joint Special Operations Command Pistol Champion.
His decorations include:
Two Meritorious Service Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, six Army Good Conduct Medals, two National Defense Service Medals, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge, and the Special Forces Tab. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Iraq Campaign Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge.
His wife Marcia of Raeford, North Carolina and his parents Nguyen Van Tuan and Phan Cong Duc of Alameda, California, survive him.
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Master Sergeant Jared N. Van Aalst, 34, assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command was killed Aug. 4, during a combat operation in Konduz Province, Afghanistan..
MSG Van Aalst was born in Laconia, N.H., on Sept. 1, 1975. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a signal support systems specialist on Aug. 17, 1995. He graduated in 1993 from Plymouth Regional High School in Plymouth, N.H.
After completing Basic Training, the Signal Support Systems Specialist Course, and Basic Airborne School, Van Aalst was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga., for the Ranger Indoctrination Program.
He was assigned to HHC, 3rd Bn., 75th Ranger Regiment, also at Fort Benning, where he served as a signal systems specialist.
In the summer of 1997, Van Aalst graduated from Ranger School and returned to 3rd Bn., where he continued his duties for another year before reclassifying as an Infantryman.
In August 1998, Van Aalst graduated the Special Forces Sniper School then returned to HHC, 3rd Bn., as a sniper team leader, later transitioning to squad leader in August 1999. After serving for two years as a squad leader he was selected as an instructor and rifle shooter in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning. He served in that position for two years before returning in September 2003 to HHC, 3rd Bn., as a sniper platoon sergeant.
He deployed on his first combat rotation to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, then to Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq before moving to Co. A, 3rd Bn., in 2005 to serve as a platoon sergeant. He deployed twice to Iraq in 2005 and again to Afghanistan in 2006 as a platoon sergeant.
Van Aalst returned to HHC, 3rd Bn., as the NCOIC of the Reconnaissance, Sniper, and Technical Surveillance Detachment. He deployed to Afghanistan again in 2006 for his fifth combat deployment.
Van Aalst was assigned as the chief instructor of the US Army Sniper School at Fort Benning In July 2007, where he served for one year before being selected in 2008 as a special operations team member, U. S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N. C.
His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, Ranger School, Sniper School, Warrior Leader Course, Static Line Jumpmaster, the Combat Lifesaver Course, Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, Infantry Advanced Leader’s Course, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, Infantry Senior Leader’s Course, Pathfinder Course, the Advanced Land Navigation Course, and the Military Free-Fall Course.
He was posthumously recognized with a second Bronze Star Medal, a third Purple Heart Medal, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
His other awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, two Joint Service Commendation Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, seven Army Achievement Medals, five Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, the Iraq Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with Numeral 3, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Distinguished Pistol Shooting Badge, Distinguished Rifleman Badge, Excellence in Competition (Pistol) Badge, and the Ranger Tab. He earned five Overseas Service Bars.
Van Aalst is survived by his wife, Katie Van Aalst, daughters Kaylie and Ava all of Pinehurst, N.C.; and his parents, Neville and Nancy Van Aalst of Hawthorne, Fla.
- De Oppresso Liber -
