The Department of Defense today identified two US Marines killed in Iraq on Sunday as members of a special forces unit based in North Carolina.
A new release from the Pentagon issued Tuesday said the Marines, Gunnery Sgt. Diego Pongo and Capt. Moises Navas, both aged 34, died while assisting Iraqi security forces in the north-central part of Iraq.
Earlier in the week, a military news release said two service members were killed by enemy forces Sunday during a mission to eliminate an ISIS stronghold in a mountainous area of Iraq.
It’s been reported Pongo and Navas were shot at close range by ISIS fighters as they approached the target.
The Pentagon on Tuesday identified two US Marines killed during an operation in Iraq on Sunday as Gunnery Sgt. Diego Pongo (left) and Capt. Moises Navas (right)
Col. Myles Caggins, chief coalition spokesman, told CNN Sunday’s firefight was one of the most intense clashes with ISIS in several months.
It then took a special-forces team six hours to recover the bodies of the slain Americans.
Both Pongo, of Simi Valley, California, and Navas, of Germantown, Maryland, were assigned to the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Col. John Lynch, Marine Raider Regiment Commanding Officer, expressed condolences to the families of the fallen servicemen.
‘Both men epitomize what it means to be a Marine Raider,’ he said in a statement. ‘They were intelligent, courageous, and loyal. They were dedicated leaders, true professionals in their craft, and willing to go above and beyond for the mission and their team.’
According to the news release from the Defense Department, Pongo enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2004 and spent his initial years as a rifleman, deploying once with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit before completing the Scout Sniper Basic Course in 2008. He then deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as a sniper team leader.
Pongo, who was fluent in multiple languages, was then selected to attend the grueling nine-month Individual Training Course to become a critical skills operator and earned the coveted Marine Special Operator Insignia in 2011.
During his eight years as a Marine Raider, Pongo was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star for heroic actions in 2013.
US and Iraqi special forces are pictured above on a mission to clear out remaining ISIS strongholds in the northern Iraqi region of Makhmur on Monday. Pongo and Navas died as they accompanied and advised Iraqi security forces on a raid of an ISIS stronghold
Soldiers fighting ISIS are seen in an image posted on social media by national security correspondent for Voice of America Jeff Seldin
His personal decorations also include a Purple Heart, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and 15 other commendations.
Col Lynch wrote that Pongo balanced his humility and quiet professionalism with his ‘larger-than-life’ personality, which was put on full display when he invited his mother to last year’s Marine Corp celebration and together with her ‘out-danced’ the rest of the guests.
The commanding officer also revealed that Pongo loved hiking and camping with his young daughter, and enjoyed woodworking in his free time.
Navas, who was known to friends as ‘Mo,’ was born in Panama but grew up in Maryland. Like Pongo, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2004 and achieved the rank of sergeant before receiving his commission in July 2010.
He later became infantry officer and completed two deployments to Japan. Following additional traininig, Navas in 2016 became a special operations officer in 2016.
He spent the past four years assigned to 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, where he served as a team commander and company executive officer, deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve before this current deployment to Iraq.
Over the course of his career, Navas earned a Purple Heart and more than a dozen other decorations for his service. He was recently selected for promotion to the rank of major.
Col Lynch in his statement described Navas, who was a married father-of-four, as a family man who cherished his time watching his daughter and three sons play sports.
‘The hearts of the entire Marine Raider community are with the Pongo and Navas families as we mourn this tremendous loss,’ Lynch’s statement continued. ‘We will do everything we can to lift up and support our grieving families in order to honor the incredible lives and the ultimate sacrifices of Gunnery Sgt. Pongo and Capt. Navas.’