Bulletin:US Army Ranger Killed in Action in Afghanistan - high achiever was admired within the Regiment

The Pentagon has disclosed that SFC Christopher A. Celiz,32,of Summerville,South Carolina,was killed by enemy small arms fire on 12 July 2018 in Paktia Province,Afghanistan while conducting combat operations along with Afghan Special Operations Forces.An Afghan SOF member was also killed in the firefight.The operation involved assisting a medevac landing zone in Zurmat district and was in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.The incident is under investigation.
Paktia Province has been the site of several al-Qaida training camps and borders Nangahar Province,the ISIL-Khorasan stronghold.*
SFC Celiz was a mortar platoon sergeant with Company D,1st Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment out of Hunter Army Airfield,Georgia.He was on his fifth deployment and had previously served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.Among SFC Celiz's decorations were the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 3 stars;Iraq Campaign Medal with 2 stars;5 Army Achievement Medals;and 3 Army Commendation Medals.He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal;Bronze Star Medal;and Meritorious Service Medal.
Battalion commander LTCOL Sean McGee said:
SFC Celiz led from the front and always put himself in the decisive point on the battlefield.*
This is the second US combat death in Afghanistan this year,and indeed the second within the last seven days,having been preceded by the loss of US Army CPL Joeseph Maciel last Saturday.
There will reportedly be a government review of the US military's current posture in Afghanistan in the near future.

Afghan War Casualty Report:Navy SEAL Killed

According to the Pentagon,as of November 12,2143 had died in the Afghan War,including 3 Department of Defense civilians and several killed in connection with the war in far flung locations from Guantanamo Bay,Cuba, to Yemen.Of the total,1701 died in hostile actions;442 died in non-hostile actions.
Killed in a hostile action on November 1 was Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Kantor,22,of Gillette,New Jersey.He was a member of a Naval Special Warfare unit based in Virginia Beach,Virginia,and was killed in Zabul Province,Afghanistan.
The following US Army soldiers were also killed in hostile actions in Afghanistan this month:
Spec.Brett E. Gornewicz,27,of Alden,New York.
Spec.Ryan P. Jayne,29,of Campbell,New York.
Staff Sgt, Dain T. Venne,29,of Port Henry,New York.
They were members of 178th Engineer Battalion,412th Theater Engineer Command,based in Oswego,New York,and were killed in Paktia Province on November 3.
Also killed in Paktia Province was Sgt.Matthew H. Stiltz,26,of Spokane,Washington.He was a member of 1st Battalion,28th Infantry Regiment,4th Brigade Commbat Team,1st Infantry Division,based at Fort Riley,Kansas and was killed in a hostile action on November 12.
The following US Army soldiers also were killed in hostile actions from November 5-10:
Pfc.Brandon L. Buttry,19,of Shenandoah,Iowa,in Kandahar Province.
Capt.James D. Nehl,37,of Gardner,Oregon,in Ghazni Province.
Staff Sgt.Kenneth W. Bennett,26,of Glendora,California,in Kandahar Province.
Spec.Daniel L. Carlson,21,of Running Springs,California,died of non-combat injuries.
Your grateful nation remembers.