Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Cribben, 33, was killed in Logar Province, Afghanistan. He leaves behind a wife and two childrren
A soldier and dad-of-two from Southern California was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend.
Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Cribben, 33, of Simi Valley, died on Saturday in Logar Province, Afghanistan.
He was involved with Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and died after becoming wounded during combat.
Cribben was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Fort Carson, Colorado.
He is survived by his wife, Shelly, who was his high school sweetheart and his two young sons Wyatt aged three and five-year-old Connor.
‘He was able to be a warrior and a husband and a father at the same time,’ his father Joe Cribben told NBC4.
It was unclear whether his death was the result of hostile enemy contact or another event, such as a vehicle accident.
The Army is investigating the incident that led to Cribben’s death.
He’d been a member of the Army since November 2002, and had just started his third tour in Afghanistan.
Cribben had been a member of the Army since November 2002, and had just started his third tour in Afghanistan
Cribben was a Special Forces Comm Sergeant, the DoD said.
‘We offer our deepest condolences to the family of our fallen brother,’ Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, said in a statement on Saturday.
‘Despite this tragic event, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the Afghan people and to support them in our mutual fight against terrorism.’
The statement indicated that he arrived in Afghanistan in September, having previously deployed there and to Iraq as a military policeman.
A decorated soldier, Cribben had earned the Bronze Star Medal, nine Army Achievement Medals, five Army Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, among many other commendations.
‘We will honor and preserve his legacy,’ Col. Lawrence Ferguson, commander of the 10th Group, said in the release.
‘We will cherish, protect and support his Family. Our focus is with them at this time. We will never forget.’
A GoFundMe page has set up to help the family.
Cribben is the 13th American service member to die in Afghanistan so far in 2017,
The Trump administration has sought a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and recently approved an increase of about 4,000 U.S. troops, bringing the total deployed there to 13,500.