{"id":34234,"date":"2019-09-17T12:30:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T12:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/17\/dod-identifies-sgt-1st-class-jeremy-w-griffin-as-green-beret-killed-by-small-arms-fire\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:56:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:56:27","slug":"dod-identifies-sgt-1st-class-jeremy-w-griffin-as-green-beret-killed-by-small-arms-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/09\/17\/dod-identifies-sgt-1st-class-jeremy-w-griffin-as-green-beret-killed-by-small-arms-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"DoD identifies Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy W. Griffin as Green Beret killed by small arms fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Defense Department has identified an Army Special Forces soldier killed<\/a> in action Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy W. Griffin, 41, was killed in action by small arms fire during combat operations in Wardak Province<\/a>, Afghanistan, Army officials announced Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffin, who was from Greenbrier, Tennessee, served as a Special Forces communications sergeant<\/a> with 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. He was on his fourth combat deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army chief of staff and sergeant major of the Army said Tuesday that they were planning to meet with Griffin\u2019s family Thursday morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was a father, he was a husband, he was a son, he was a Green Beret and he was an American hero,\u201d Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs far as Afghanistan goes, we\u2019re going to continue to work with our Afghan partners to make sure that the conditions are set for a possible political solution,\u201d McConville added. \u201cWe went there for a reason, and we\u2019re going to continue to conduct operations to make sure Afghanistan is no longer a sanctuary for any type of terrorists that want to attack the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffin was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. His death brings the number of U.S. troops killed in action in Afghanistan this year to 17, according to Defense Department figures. More than 100 other American personnel have been wounded in combat in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe loss of Sgt. 1st Class Griffin is felt across the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Family and the entire Special Forces community,\u201d Col. Owen G. Ray, commander, 1st Special Forces Group said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was a warrior \u2014 an accomplished, respected and loved Special Forces Soldier that will never be forgotten. We ask that you keep his Family and teammates in your thoughts and prayers,” Ray added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A defense official told Army Times that there are no indications the attack was a green-on-blue incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffin was born in Cristobal, Panama, on Dec. 7, 1978, and enlisted into the U.S. Army on April 6, 2004, according to an Army Special Operations Command press release.<\/p>\n\n\n\t