This Week at War: ‘The Kind of Person We Need’

The Stream's weekly look at the sacrifices of U.S. troops and military families around the globe.

By Tom Sileo Published on August 24, 2018

Iraq

When the war in Iraq started in 2003, a young soldier named Taylor Galvin had just enlisted in the U.S. Army. For the next 15 years, he deployed an incredible nine times to defend America on perilous post-9/11 battlefields.

Tragically, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Galvin’s ninth deployment ended with his helicopter crashing in the Sinjar district of Iraq’s Ninevah province, according to the Department of Defense. The 34-year-old special operations warrior later succumbed to his injuries at a military hospital in Baghdad. The crash that took his life is under investigation.

The fallen hero’s hometown newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, spoke to the Spokane, Washington area native’s high school wrestling coach.

“When he was going into the military, I was saying, ‘that’s what we need,’ ” Lakeside High School’s Troy Hughes told the paper. “He’s the kind of person we need.”

Tributes have been pouring in from across the nation, including from a U.S. Senator who also served our country in uniform.

Please pray for Chief Warrant Officer 3 Taylor Galvin’s wife, two children, relatives, friends and fellow soldiers.

Medal of Honor

Another departed warrior was honored this week at the White House. President Trump on Wednesday presented a posthumous Medal of Honor to the widow of U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2002.

“In his final act of supreme courage, John gave his life for his fellow warriors,” the president said during Wednesday’s ceremony.

The Connecticut native is the first airman to receive the nation’s highest military honor since the Vietnam War. You can read more below about the life and legacy of Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, whose last stand atop a snowy mountain is now the stuff of legend.

Afghanistan

Thousands of Americans are still fighting in Afghanistan, where an American hero was killed in action earlier this month. Amid renewed violence around the war-torn country, U.S. military leaders are projecting public optimism about ongoing peace talks.

“This must be an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process, with Afghans talking to Afghans,” U.S. Army Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said this week. “The U.S. is prepared to support, facilitate and participate in these discussions.”

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Approximately 14,000 U.S. troops are serving in Afghanistan, where war has raged for nearly 17 years. Please pray for their safe return, as well as their families here at home.

Coming Home

More than 80 air commandos who’d been deployed overseas returned to Florida earlier this month, including a gunship pilot who is undoubtedly thrilled to be home with his wife and what will soon be a bigger, even happier family.

Pilot Comes Home

A U.S. Air Force gunship evaluator pilot reunites with his wife during a homecoming ceremony at Hurlburt Field in Florida on August 9, 2018.

Welcome home, hero!

 

Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is co-author of three books about military heroes: 8 Seconds of CourageBrothers Forever and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on Twitter @TSileo.

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