Flag-draped casket carrying the remains of US Special Forces soldier Michael Goble, 33, who was killed ‘by the Taliban’ in Afghanistan, arrive home
- Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble was killed in Afghanistan on Monday in a bombing
- His remains were brought back to Delaware on Christmas Day
- The 33-year-old from New Jersey was engaged in combat operations in Kunduz when he was killed
- His death brings the number of American deaths in Afghanistan this year to 20
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The remains of Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble, a 33-year-old American soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan have been returned to the United States.
Sgt. 1st Class Goble of Washington Township, New Jersey, was killed Monday in a roadside bombing in northern Kunduz province. The Taliban has claimed they were behind the attack.
Goble was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
The remains of Sgt. 1st Class Goble arrive in Delaware on December 25, two days after he was killed in Afghanistan
Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Goble was killed in Afghanistan on Monday
The Pentagon has said Goble’s unit was engaged in combat operations in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, when he suffered fatal injuries.
Multiple U.S. officials, including National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attended Wednesday what the military calls a dignified transfer in which the cases containing the remains are transferred to a vehicle from the aircraft that ferried them to the United States.
Goble, who was from Westwood, New Jersey, joined the US Army in 2004, going on to be accepted as a Green Beret in 2007.
His death brings the number of American deaths in Afghanistan this year to 20.
Two chief warrant officers, David Knadle, 33, and Kirk Fuchigami Jr., became numbers 18 and 19 after their helicopter crashed while flying over eastern Logar province.
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Goble at Dover Air Force Base
Soldiers carrying his remains off the military plane on Wednesday December 25 during the dignified transfer
The solemn event was attended by numerous dignitaries including National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army General Mark A. Milley
Acting Under Secretary of the Army James McPherson, left, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and others, stand as an Army carry team moves the transfer case
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deaths, saying they had downed the helicopter, causing many fatalities. The US military dismissed the Taliban claim as false.
There have also been three non-combat deaths in 2019. More than 2,400 Americans have died in the near 18-year conflict.
Scores of Afghan civilians are also killed in the crossfire or by roadside bombs planted by militants.
The Taliban now controls or holds sway over practically half of Afghanistan but continues to stage near-daily attacks targeting Afghan and US forces, as well as government officials.
Attempts have been made by the US to negotiate with the fundamentalist movement but US President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew from peace talks in the fall, resulting in a pledge to continue fighting from top Taliban militants.
The Army team saluted Sgt. Goble before the doors of the transfer van were closed.
epa08090005 Dignitaries board the transport plane for a prayer before the dignified transfer