Casulaties Mount In Afghanistan For 101st Airborne

SSG Octavio Herrera is part of the division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, which will be disbanded as part of Army downsizing. Credit: 101s Airborne

The 101^st Airborne is continuing to take casualties in Afghanistan. Three Fort Campbell soldiers were killed this week by what the Department of Defense describes as “indirect fire” from enemy forces.

Staff Sgt. Octavio Herrera grew up working with his family in the agricultural fields of Idaho. His parents released a statement saying that their “youngest but strongest son” wanted to be in the Army since he was little. This was his third deployment. He’s survived by his wife, who lives in Clarksville.

Sgt. Jamar Hicks was killed in the same incident. He was a driver on his second tour of duty. He leaves behind a wife and one-year-old child in Chicago.

Spc. Keith Grace was also a driver and on his first deployment.

All three were part of the 101^st Airborne’s 4^th Brigade, which has now suffered seven casualties during the ongoing 9-month deployment. Some brigades have returned from recent trips to Afghanistan without losing a single soldier. Last year, only two Fort Campbell soldiers were listed as casualties, the fewest since the current conflicts began.