WASHINGTON – The Defense Department has identified the nine American troops killed in the worst coalition helicopter crash in Afghanistan in four years.
The military announced Wednesday that four sailors were killed in the crash during combat operations a day earlier, along with five soldiers. Three of the sailors were Navy SEALs, while the fourth was assigned to the Naval Special Warfare unit. The five soldiers were from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The Navy victims were identified as Lt. Brendan J. Looney, 29, of Owings, Md.; Senior Chief Petty Officer David B. McLendon, 30, of Thomasville, Ga.; Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam O. Smith, 26, of Hurland, Mo.; and Petty Officer 3rd Class Denis C. Miranda, 24, of Toms River, N.J.
McLendon was assigned to a Naval Special Warfare unit. Looney, Smith and Miranda were assigned to SEAL teams.
The soldiers killed were Maj. Robert F. Baldwin, 39, of Muscatine, Iowa; Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah; Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan, 26, of St. Louis Park, Minn.; Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell, 25, of Pleasant Plains, Ill.; and Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr., 23, of Elkhart, Ind.
Baldwin was assigned to the brigade headquarters; Wagstaff, McClellan and Calhoun were assigned to the 5th Battalion; and Powell was assigned to the 6th Battalion.
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