The future E-7s are in the active Army and Active Guard and Reserve. They were selected for promotion by the FY18 Sergeant First Class promotion selection board that convened in April.

See the names here:

Active Army list.

AGR list.

Sgt. James Slape, a soldier with the North Carolina National Guard’s 430th Ordnance Company, died Oct. 4 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, from an improvised explosive device. The unit had been in Afghanistan since April.

Shortly after his death, The New York Times, citing documents it obtained, reported that Slape’s unit had repeatedly requested better equipment and training but were denied both due to a lack of funds.

The Guard has since initiated an AR 15-6 investigation “into the training and equipping of the 430th EOD Company for their mobilization and deployment to Afghanistan,” Lt. Col. Wes Parmer, a Guard spokesman, confirmed to Army Times on Dec. 7. “As the investigation is ongoing, no additional details can be provided at this time.”

Prior his death, Slape’s unit had requested tools often used when clearing buried land mines and improvised bombs, the New York Times reported, though it remains unclear whether the lack of this equipment contributed to Slape’s death.

Before deploying, the 430th had to borrow equipment like rifle sights and radios from other National Guard units and received more items upon the soldiers’ arrival in theater.

Slape, 23, of Morehead City, North Carolina, died in southern Afghanistan, a volatile region where the Taliban have remained historically strong throughout the 17-year war in the country.

As an EOD tech, he was responding to help with a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle that had hit a roadside bomb.

Slape was reportedly sweeping around the vehicle for secondary explosives when he was killed by an explosion. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant.

When they arrived downrange, the soldiers of the 430th still did not have the most advanced mine detectors that could locate bomb components the Taliban use, according to two officials who spoke to the New York Times.

That detector has reportedly been issued by many active-duty bomb disposal units, including some not deployed to conflict zones. The Times reported that much of the gear and training the 430th sought for their deployment was standard for active-duty troops.

In an October statement to the media regarding the 430th Ordnance Company, the Guard said the unit was “trained and ready” for its deployment when the unit was mobilized in April 2018.

The 430th also “received all required pre-mobilization training in addition to specialized training the unit requested prior to going on Title 10 Active Duty,” the Guard statement said.

That specialized training included homemade explosives training, electronic counter-measures training, ground sign awareness training and an investigative forensics course, culminating in a two-week mission rehearsal training exercise at Camp Blanding, Florida, in March, the Guard said.

First Army, which is tasked with training mobilizing units, validated the 430th’s training proficiency on May 7, the Guard said.

The Guard’s October statement also said the 430th received all of its required equipment, including specialized detectors it received upon arriving in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Leandro Jasso, 25, was deployed in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. He was wounded by small arms fire while conducting combat operations in Khash Rod district, in Afghanistan’s Nimruz province.

He was immediately treated and medically evacuated to the nearest medical treatment facility, in Garmsir district, in neighboring Helmand province, where he died Saturday of his wounds, according to U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

The incident is under investigation.

Jasso was a team leader assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. He was on his third deployment to Afghanistan.

A native of Leavenworth, Washington, Jasso enlisted in the Army in August 2012, according to USASOC. After completing initial entry training and airborne school, he successfully completed the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

His awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Ranger Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge.

“Sgt. Jasso was a humble professional who placed the mission first, lived the Ranger Creed and will be deeply missed,” said Lt. Col. Rob McChrystal, commander of 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, in a statement.

Jasso is the 10th U.S. service member killed this year in Afghanistan.

Taylor, 39, was a military intelligence officer with Utah’s Joint Force Headquarters. He was serving with the Special Operations Joint Task Force in Afghanistan when he was killed, the Utah Guard said in a statement.

Another soldier was wounded in the same attack in Kabul. That soldier was reported to be in stable condition after receiving medical treatment at Bagram Airfield.

Initial reports indicate the attacker was a member of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said in a statement Saturday morning.

The attacker was immediately killed by other Afghan partner forces, according to reports received by USFOR-A.

The incident is under investigation.

“We are devastated by the loss of our mayor and friend, Brent Taylor,” according to a statement on the North Ogden City Facebook page. “Our hearts and thoughts go to Jennie, their children, and other family members as they deal with this tragic loss. We love them and hope they will feel the love and support of all of us in North Ogden.”

The site went on to describe the “profound influence” Taylor had on the community, a city of more than 17,000 people about 45 miles north of Salt Lake City.

“He was the best of men with the ability to see potential and possibility in everything around him,” according to the post. “We feel blessed to have had him as our mayor.”

Taylor deployed in January as part of an advisory team to train members of an Afghan commando battalion, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. He often posted updates on Facebook of the work he was doing with the Afghan soldiers, the newspaper reported.

His last Facebook post, on Oct. 28, highlighted a successful election in Afghanistan.

Taylor, a graduate of Brigham Young University, was commissioned in July 2006. He was on his fourth deployment, according to the Utah Guard. He deployed twice to Iraq, in 2006 and again in 2007, and served in Afghanistan in 2012.

He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his service in Iraq, according to the Utah Guard.

On this most recent deployment, he deployed to Afghanistan as a combat adviser to the Afghan border police.

“Today we mourn the loss of a remarkable American,” said Maj. Gen. Jefferson Burton, the adjutant general of the Utah Guard, in a statement. “Major Brent R. Taylor was a patriot whose personal life resonated with excellence. From his commitment to education, to his passion for politics, Brent was dedicated to making a difference.”

“Devastating news,” Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer J. Cox wrote on his Facebook page. “”I hate this. I’m struggling for words. I love Mayor Taylor, his amazing wife Jennie and his seven sweet kids. Utah weeps for them today. This war has once again cost us the best blood of a generation. We must rally around his family.”

“Brent was a hero, a patriot, a wonderful father, and a dear friend,” U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said on Twitter. “News of his death in Afghanistan is devastating. My prayers and love are with Jennie and his 7 young children. His service will always be remembered.”

The speaker of the Utah House of Representatives also paid tribute to Taylor.

“This is unbelievably tragic. Brent was the only person I personally knew who was able to share his deployment on social media,” Speaker Greg Hughes wrote on Facebook. “His pictures and descriptions gave me a deeper understanding of our military’s service and sacrifice. The last post I read was about Afghanistan’s free and open elections. Today, the humbling reality that freedom isn’t free is a bitter pill to swallow. God Bless Mayor Taylor and his family. We love, cherish and support you.”

This was the latest in a series of apparent insider attacks in Afghanistan in recent months. Just last month, an insider attack where Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was present, killed a key Afghan general and wounded an American one-star general.

In September, the senior enlisted soldier of 3rd Squadron, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade was killed in an insider attack. Another soldier from the SFAB was killed in July, also in an insider attack.

Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal died over the weekend. He relinquished command of Eighth Army in January and officially retired Sept. 1.

Vandal, a 1982 West Point graduate and veteran of the Iraq war, served as commanding general of Eighth Army and chief of staff of Combined Forces Command in South Korea from February 2016 to January 2018.

He commanded the 2nd Infantry Division from June 2013 to April 2015.

His other assignments include director of operations, readiness and mobilization in the Army G-3/5/7 at the Pentagon; commandant of the Army Field Artillery School and Army Fires Center of Excellence; deputy commanding general for the 3rd Infantry Division; commander of the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany; and commander of the 75th Field Artillery Brigade, III Corps Artillery.

Vandal’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with three Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Defense Superior Medal, the Legion of Merit with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Parachutist Badge, and the Air Assault Badge.

This includes pushing ahead on key modernization efforts to make sure soldiers have the best equipment the Army can provide.

“It’s the infantry, still today, that suffers 70 to 80 percent of the casualties. I want those kids to have the best, bar none, with nothing held back,” Milley said. “We owe it to them.”

What’s your assessment of the Army today?

We’ve made some really good progress over the last couple of years. Some external factors have contributed. One is the budget. The second is the op tempo relative to the war in the Middle East.

At one point in time, when I first became the chief, people were actively talking about an [active] Army of 420,000 [soldiers], some were saying 400,000. Those conversations largely are over. So, in terms of manning and strength, I think the bleeding, if you will, the reduction in forces, has stopped.

That’s good news.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have challenges. We do. There are still holes in too many units. We have units, battalions, brigades going to premier training events at less than optimal strength.

Optimal strength I would define as in excess of 90 percent. We are not there yet because we still have gaps and holes in many of our operational units, but there are less gaps and holes than there were 36 months ago.

For more coverage from the AUSA annual meeting, click here.

How is the Army preparing for the next war or challenge?

We refocused on great power competition, or higher-end warfare or full-spectrum operations.

What we did was we wanted to replicate the capabilities that are out there amongst the near-peer competitors, Russia, China, North Korea. We merged them together into an operational environment so that the [opposition forces at the combat training centers] would replicate those types of threats.

The Army is back into doing gunneries on a routine basis. Artillery units are back into doing mass fires. Attack aviation units are back into doing significant aviation operations and air assault operations and so on.

So, across the board, across the entire Army, there has been a refocus. We are hitting the sled repeatedly over and over and over again.

What’s next as you continue to refocus?

I knew we were going to have to shift gears at some point and put a focus on modernization. Secretary [of Defense Jim] Mattis was very plain in his national defense strategy [and] the return of great power competition.

In order to do that, you are going to have to have the capability to shoot down enemy fixed wing, rotary wing, and missiles. So we have got to, in some cases, rebuild, and in other cases innovate brand-new systems that are capable of protecting our tactical units in that type of war.

We have good capability with Patriot and THAAD, but our SHORAD has really been depleted over time, so we are rebuilding that.

We are exploring lots of different innovations in terms of modernization, and we think we can field some things in relatively short order to significantly improve that capability.

I think the American soldier should have the absolute, without question, best equipment, from head to toe, that the American people can possibly afford. That’s everything from the helmet to the goggles to the rifle to the pistol, to the body armor, the uniform, the boots, you name it.

How will the Army afford this?

We cut every single nickel out of the office[s] of the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Secretary of the Army, cut our electricity bill, cut all our computers, cut all the paper we use, cut every single person up here by half, cut the entire Army staff in half, cut all other kinds of budget.

Do not cut the ability of soldiers to have lethality and readiness on the battlefield. That is the last of the cuts.

You don’t cut unit end strength. You don’t cut drill instructors, recruiters. For too many years those are the first things to give way. No, absolutely not.

Cut everything else. Cut aides, cut bands, cut whatever perks people have.

Cut everything before you start cutting shoot, move, communicate for ground forces. That’s my opinion.

Sgt. James Slape, 23, died Thursday in Helmand province from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. He was deployed in support of Operations Resolute Support and Freedom’s Sentinel.

Slape, of Morehead City, North Carolina, was assigned to the 430th Explosive Ordnance Company, 60th Troop Command, of the North Carolina Army National Guard. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Slape’s unit deployed to Afghanistan in April and is scheduled to return to the U.S. in the spring.

Slape joined the North Carolina Guard in 2013 and, after training, graduated as an explosive ordnance specialist in 2015.

The incident is under investigation, officials said.

“We are deeply saddened by the news of Sgt. James Slape losing his life while serving our country,’ said Maj. Gen. Greg Lusk, adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard, in a statement. “We honor his courage, his selfless service and we extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and fellow soldiers as we hold them firmly in our hearts and prayers during this difficult time.”

Former Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, who had already received a Silver Star for his actions, will be honored with the nation’s highest award for valor by President Donald Trump during an Oct. 1 ceremony at the White House.

Shurer served as a Special Forces medic with 3rd Special Forces Group.

On April 6, 2008, Shurer and his team were assigned to take out high-value targets of the Hezeb Islami al Gulbadin in Shok Valley, according to the Army.

As the soldiers moved through the valley, they were attacked by enemy machine gun, sniper and rocket-propelled grenade fire, according to the White House.

The lead assault element suffered several casualties and became pinned down on the mountainside. Shurer ran through enemy fire to treat a soldier who had been hit in the neck by shrapnel from an RPG blast.

He then fought for an hour through a barrage of bullets and enemy fighters and up the mountain to the rest of the lead element, the White House said.

There, Shurer treated and stabilized four more wounded soldiers before evacuating them, carrying and lowering them down the mountainside, using his body to shield them from enemy fire and debris, according to the White House.

He simultaneously fought the enemy and treated the wounded for several hours, including a teammate who had suffered a traumatic amputation to his right leg, according to the Army.

After loading the wounded soldiers into the medevac helicopter, Shurer took control of the remaining team and rejoined the fight.

Shurer was initially awarded the Silver Star, the third-highest award for valor. The award is being upgraded after an extensive review.

In January 2016, the Pentagon ordered the services to conduct a sweeping review of valor medals awarded since the 9/11 terror attacks and directed service leaders to determine whether individual military members were shortchanged in the medals they received.

Shurer joined the Army in 2002 and was deployed with Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan from November 2007 to May 2008. He was honorably discharged in May 2009.

He went on to serve with the Secret Service, working as a special agent assigned to the Phoenix Field Office before being selected for the agency’s Counter Assault Team and assigned to its Special Operations Division.

He lives in Burke, Virginia, with his wife and two sons.

The exception to policy applies to deployed, promotable soldiers in the ranks of specialist or corporal through sergeant first class, for promotion to sergeant through master sergeant.

The Army first announced this latest update to its STEP — or select, train, educate and promote — policy in April. But the accompanying All-Activities and Military Personnel messages were not released until Sept. 19 and Sept. 21, respectively.

The deferment to professional military education targets soldiers who are deployed and unable to break away for school.

“In an era of persistent conflict, the intent is to support promotion of soldiers on operational deployments, on a case-by-case basis, who would have otherwise been promoted had their deployment not prevented timely completion of PME,” according to ALARACT 078/2018,” Exception to Policy (AR 600-8-19) Enlisted Promotions and Reductions.

Eligible soldiers “must be fully qualified for promotion, and the only thing they’re missing is PME,” then-Command Sgt. Maj. David Davenport, the former senior enlisted soldier for Training and Doctrine Command, told Army Times in April. “They must be operationally deployed, [and] there’s a lack of training opportunity.”

Apart from those exceptions, the Army’s policy has not changed, Davenport said at the time.

“PME remains a promotion requirement,” he said. “All we’re trying to do, because of the op tempo, is to try to [provide] a template for those that seek out a deferment to PME or exception to policy for those who are deployed.”

Soldiers who receive a PME deferment can be promoted, but they must later meet all PME requirements to attain promotion eligibility to the next higher grade.

Those promoted to sergeant are subject to an Army Bar to Continued Service if they are not PME-qualified for promotion board appearance to staff sergeant by the time they reach primary zone eligibility, according to the MILPER.

Commanders or affected soldiers may request the exception to policy using the template posted on the Army Human Resources Command website. The website includes the ALARACT, MILPER and various forms and instructions required to apply for an exception to policy.

All applications must be worked through the chain of command and must use the template, which must be completed in its entirety, according to the ALARACT.

Requests must be submitted and received within the month the soldier in question met or exceeded the announced cutoff score or sequence number, according to the MILPER message.

Requests received after the requested promotion month, if approved, will not be retroactive.

In April, Davenport said he expects just a small number of soldiers will qualify for a deferment to PME.

“We don’t want to penalize soldiers, especially in low-density MOSs,” he said.

Deployed soldiers serving in small military occupational specialties whose PME courses are offered only two or three times a year are a good example of those who may need a PME deferment.

“They’re doing everything, they’re fit, they’ve knocked out their [Structured Self-Development], they’re doing everything right, but they don’t have the opportunity to attend PME like those in the State or home station,” Davenport said then.

The Army began implementing STEP in January 2016.

Under STEP, soldiers must complete a regimen of online and resident military education courses to be considered for, and then promoted to, the ranks of sergeant through sergeant major.

Staff Sgt. Diobanjo Sanagustin, 32, an infantryman with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, died Tuesday, the Pentagon and Army announced Wednesday.

Sanagustin, who was from National City, California, joined the Army in May 2007. He had deployed three times, to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, during his 11-year Army career.

He had been assigned to Fort Carson since January.

“Staff Sgt. Diobanjo Sanagustin served as a squad leader in Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment during Operation Freedom’s Sentinel,” said Lt. Col. David Uthlaut, his battalion commander, in a statement. “He made a lasting impact on the Manchu formation, and we will forever cherish his memory. Our deepest condolences are with the Sanagustin family.”

Sanagustin is the second soldier in two days to die in Afghanistan. Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Bolyard, of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, was killed Monday in an insider attack in Afghanistan’s Logar province.

Sanagustin’s awards and decorations include two Army Commendation Medals, seven Army Achievement Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, and the Expert Infantryman Badge.