The U.S. Military's Mission Is 'Evolving' In Afghanistan

Members of an Afghan commando unit arrive at the Qala-i-Zal, the district to the northwest of Kunduz, Afghanistan, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Nasir Wakif

Task & Purpose: Most Recent American KIA In Afghanistan Reflects Military’s Evolving Mission

The Department of Defense has identified the Army Green Beret killed in Afghanistan on Nov. 4 as Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Cribben, a 33-year-old senior communications sergeant assigned to 2nd Battalion 10th Special Forces Group out of Fort Carson, Colorado.

Cribben died of wounds sustained while conducting operations in Logar province, Army Times reports, bringing the total number of troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 13. Of those, 11 were killed in combat. The incident is currently under investigation.

This year has seen a slight increase in U.S. casualties in Afghanistan from 2016, during which a total of 9 American service members died as a result of hostile actions. There were 10 U.S. KIAs in the country in 2015, 6 of whom were killed on Dec. 21 in the district of Bagram by a single suicide bomber. Now in its 16th year, the Afghan War has claimed the lives of more than 2,400 American service members, according to the website iCasualties, which tracks U.S. casualties of the War on Terror.

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WNU Editor: I have noticed this shift also. Special forces going after ISIS. Regular soldiers training Afghan soldiers.