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January 30, 2009:
FORT DRUM (AP) - Military officials now say the fatal crash of two Army helicopters in Iraq last month was caused by enemy fire.
The Defense Department initially said the cause of the Jan. 26 crash near Kirkuk didn't appear to be the result of an attack. But on Thursday, Army officials at Fort Drum, where the pilots were based, said the crash occurred as the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters were evading enemy fire.
An Army report says forensic evidence revealed that enemy fire led to the crash.
Pilots Philip Windorski, Joshua Tillery, Matthew Kelley and Benjamin Todd were warrant officers in the 10th Mountain Division's 10th Combat Aviation Brigade.
A ceremony honoring the pilots was held Thursday evening at the Army post in northern New York.
January 26, 2009:
Four Fort Drum soldiers killed in Iraq helicopter crash
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) - The Pentagon has released the names of the four Fort Drum-based soldiers who died when two helicopters crashed in Iraq this week. The Defense Department says 35-year-old Philip Windorski, Jr., of Bovey, Minn.; 30-year-old Matthew Kelley of Cameron, Mo.; 31-year-old Joshua Tillery of Beaverton, Ore.; and 29-year-old Benjamin Todd of Colville, Wash., died from wounds suffered Monday when two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters crashed in Kirkuk. They were all 10th Mountain Division chief warrant officers. The Defense Department says the cause of the crash is under investigation, but it did not appear to be the result of an attack. According to Fort Drum's Web site, 124 10th Mountain Division soldiers have died of combat and noncombat injuries in Iraq. Listed below is a brief summary of each of the soldiers killed in the line of duty, provided by Fort Drum.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philip Windorski, Jr.
6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain DivisionWindorski, age 35, joined the armed forces in November, 1991. He completed his Warrant Officer training at Fort Rucker in 1998 and started flying the Kiowa Warrior in 1999. After assignments at Fort Polk, where he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom for 16 months in 2003 - 2004, and Fort Rucker where he used his combat pilot experience to train other pilots, Windorski was assigned to Fort Drum in October 2007. He deployed with the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in October 2008. Windorkski's awards and achievements include 2 Air Medals, 5 Army Commendation Medals, 5 Army Achievement Medals, 2 Presidential Unit Citations, 2 Army Good Conduct Medals, 2 National Defense Service Medals, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Senior Army Aviator Badge and posthumously, the Bronze Star Medal. Windorski's home state of record is Minnesota. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Tillery
6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain DivisionTillery, age 31, joined the armed forces in August, 1995. He completed his Warrant Officer training in 2003 and came to Fort Drum to fly the Kiowa Warrior in June 2004. He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for 11 months with the 10th Mountain Division in 2005-2006, and again in October 2008. Tillery's awards and decorations include the Air Medal, 2 Army Commendation Medals, 6 Army Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal for Combat Service, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, The Noncommissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Air Assault Badge, the Army Aviator Badge, the Combat Action Badge, the Parachutist Badge and posthumously, the Bronze Star Medal. Tillery's home state of record is Oregon. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Chief Warrant Officer Benjamin Todd
6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain DivisionTodd, age 29, joined the armed forces in October, 2000. He completed his Warrant Officer training in 2005 and came to Fort Drum to fly the Kiowa Warrior in November, 2007. He deployed is support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in October 2008. Todd's awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Expert Infantry Badge, the Parachutist Badge and posthumously, the Bronze Star Medal. Todd's home state of record is Washington. He is survived by his wife and child.
Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Kelley,
6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain DivisionKelley, age 30, joined the armed forces is March 2003. He completed his Warrant Officer training in 2005 and came to Fort Drum to fly the Kiowa Warrior in October 2007. Previous deployments include an 8 month tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003-2004. He deployed again in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in October 2008. Kelley's awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Aviation Badge, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Expert Infantry Badge, the Parachutist Badge and posthumously, the Bronze Star Medal. Kelley's home state of record in Missouri. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Monday, January 26th
4 Soldiers Killed in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Two U.S. helicopters crashed Monday in northern Iraq, killing four American troops, the U.S. military said, in the deadliest single incident for U.S. forces in more than four months. The military said the crash "does not appear to be by enemy action." Despite the latest deaths, the number of Americans killed in Iraq has dropped significantly with an overall decline in violence. On Monday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he expects the U.S. to withdraw its troops faster than the three-year timeline laid down in the U.S.-Iraq security agreement. President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to remove all combat troops within 16 months and has asked the Pentagon to plan for "a responsible military drawdown from Iraq." At a political rally Monday, al-Maliki said Iraqi forces must be bolstered with that in mind. Monday's crash was the deadliest single incident for U.S. troops since Sept. 18, when seven American soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the southern desert west of Basra. No precise location was given for the 2:15 a.m. crash, but a military spokesman said it occurred in Tamim province, which includes the oil-rich disputed city of Kirkuk. Iraqi officials said the crash site was located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Kirkuk, which is about 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release the information. Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for U.S. forces in northern Iraq, said all the dead were Americans. He declined to give more details. The deaths raised to at least 4,236 the number of U.S. service members who have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters and other aircraft to ferry troops, dignitaries and supplies to avoid the threat of ambushes and roadside bombs in Iraq. At least 70 U.S. helicopters have gone down since the war started in March 2003, according to military figures. Of those, 36 were confirmed to have been shot down. Most recently, a helicopter made a hard landing on Nov. 15 after hitting wires in the northern city of Mosul, killing two American soldiers. A Soviet-made civilian cargo plane also crashed in November after reporting a malfunction west of Baghdad, leaving the seven crew members dead. The January 2005 crash of a U.S. Marine CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter in western Iraq claimed 31 lives - the biggest single U.S. loss of life in the Iraq war. Investigators determined the crash was not due to hostile fire. Iraqi electoral officials, meanwhile, geared up for Saturday's provincial elections - the first nationwide vote in more than three years. A spokesman for Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission, Qassim al-Aboudi, said the panel had punished more than 69 parties or coalitions for 180 campaign violations ranging from putting posters outside allocated locations and defaming rivals. He expressed concern that was only a preview for likely conflicts and claims of fraud after the vote: "I do not expect that the losers in the elections will congratulate the winners."
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