4um: SHOCKER: Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan -- on 7th tour

Title: SHOCKER: Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan -- on 7th tour
Source: Daily Kos
URL Source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/2/104634/4264/810/507700
Published: May 2, 2008
Author: Greg Mitchell
Post Date: 2008-05-02 11:19:23 by aristeides
Keywords: None
Views: 226
Comments: 3

Yesterday, amid all of the Mission Accomplished "nostalgia" and reports on the April death toll in Iraq hitting a new recent high of 50, one particular fatality in Afghanistan nearly escaped attention. I did an item about it over at Editor & Publisher which did get widely linked, but I will now bring it to you here.

Meanwhile, let's keep in mind that as of May 1, according to the Pentagon, at least 425 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan since late 2001. Of those, the military reports 292 were killed by hostile action.

An Army Ranger from Ramona, Ca., was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday—on his seventh tour of duty in that country or in Iraq.

Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell, 30, died Tuesday in Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in a firefight when enemy forces attacked using small arms fires, according to the Pentagon.

McDowell had been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq seven times. He was a recipient of two Bronze stars and a Purple Heart. His most recent tour in Afghanistan began on March 29.

He is survived by his wife, his high school sweetheart, Joleen; son, Joshua, 11; daughter, Erin, 3; his parents; and two sisters.

Greg Mitchell's new book is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits--and the President -- Failed on Iraq..It has been hailed by Susan G of Daily Kos, Bill Moyers, Glenn Greenwald, Paul Rieckhoff and others.

though his older son was 11, he only had time to spend 2 or 3 years with him, 4 at most. How long is a tour? Some tours are 18 months I understand, some are 6 months it seems. But I think most are 12-14 months.

Revelation 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Ramona is a rural community in the mountains east of San Diego, Poway is less rural more pleasant suburbia with excellent schools. (Local comments at Union-Tribune link)

A Poway High School graduate who achieved his childhood dream of being an Army Ranger died during combat in Afghanistan on Tuesday.

Sgt. 1st Class David McDowell, 30, is remembered by his family and friends as a man who followed his father into the Army and made himself an elite, decorated soldier.

David McDowell

“Down to the last bone in his body, the guy believed in what he did,” said Jesse Carlson, 29, of Carlsbad, who went to high school with McDowell and played football with him.

“It's very unique to find someone with that kind of conviction,” Carlson said. “You can't help but respect the guy and feel about as proud as you possibly can that he's your friend.”

McDowell is the sixth person with personal ties to San Diego County who has been killed in Afghanistan since the war there began in 2001. He died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked using small-arms fire, the Pentagon announced yesterday. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment based at Fort Lewis, Wash.

McDowell had been deployed seven times in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the Army Special Operations Command. His honors included two Bronze Stars with valor devices and a Purple Heart.

McDowell is survived by his wife, Joleen; son, Joshua, 11; daughter, Erin, 3; mother, Laurie Wathen of Julian; father, Steven McDowell of North Carolina; and sisters, Becky McDowell of Poway and Michele Delay of North Carolina. A funeral has not been planned.

The family suggested that donations be sent in McDowell's name to the 2nd Ranger Battalion Assistance Foundation. Details can be found at assistrangers.org.

McDowell moved to Poway as a teenager and joined the high school football team. Carlson remembered being impressed by McDowell's physique from the start. “He got his 'man body' before anyone,” Carlson said.

Carlson described his friend as a solid player and a smart student who had goals beyond high school athletics or academics.

“He was more into becoming an Army Ranger,” said Carlson, who noted that McDowell was doing military-style endurance training well before he officially joined the service.

“He worked harder than anybody I've ever known at making his goals happen,” Carlson said.

Becky McDowell said her brother's passion for military service started early.

“It was always Army from the time he could walk and talk,” she said. “If you weren't talking about the Army, forget it. He didn't want to talk to you.”

David McDowell would want to be remembered wearing his Ranger beret, Becky McDowell said. Among other things, he served as a machine gun team leader, a weapons squad leader and a platoon sergeant.

“I'd always tell him how proud I was of him – that is what big sisters are for,” Becky McDowell said. “He was a true American hero. He took care of his family and he took care of his country.”

Mike Lee: (619) 542-4570; mike.lee@uniontrib.com

“President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years,” “Maybe a hundred ... ... that’d be fine with me,” McCain responds
Hillary: "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran in the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."

Not for specops personnel. They normally spend about 6 months per rotation. Also, Rangers, SF, Seals, and Force Recon are a breed a part from the rest of the military. The ones I knew lived and breathed their jobs. If one were to look into this I have no doubt you will find that this soldier volunteered for his tours and loved every minute of it.

"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976