RIP Soldier

Andrew Olmsted, a milblogger serving in Iraq who we read frequently, was killed in action on January 3rd, 2008. This is the official DoD release.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Jan. 3 in As Sadiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit using small arms fire during combat operations. Both Soldiers were assigned to the Military Transition Team, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

Killed were:

Maj. Andrew J. Olmsted, 37, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Cpt. Thomas J. Casey, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M.

This is from Andrew's blog profile on Rocky Mountain News.

Fort Carson-based Army Major Andrew Olmsted is blogging from the war in Iraq, where his mission is to teach members of the Iraqi Army how to defend their country and provide security for their people. Major Olmsted is a veteran blogger and he is determined to make a difference in Iraq. "The sooner the Iraqi government doesn't need U.S. support to provide security for its people, the sooner we will probably be asked to leave."

This was his last dispatch with the Rocky Mountain News. I felt that 'chill' sensation when I hit the comments. Read into the comments to see what I mean.

He has a final post up that he left instructions to be posted on his blog should he fall in Iraq. You can find his Final Post on his blog. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, his parents, and his brother and sister.

When a Major and a Captain are killed in during a combat action, it really says a lot about the quality of their leadership. Apparently, soldiers not only would follow these men into battle, it would appear in fact, they did exactly that.