This story will remain as a featured article at the top of the front page until Bowe comes home. Further articles will be added here as events come to light.
As a soldier and veteran of Afghanistan, we leave no one behind.

The Dallas Morning News -- The Pentagon confirmed Sunday that a U.S. soldier captured by the Taliban and shown in a video released Saturday is Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho.

The 28-minute video shows Bergdahl in apparent good condition, with a shaved head, a stubble of beard and dressed in a traditional Afghan loose shirt and tunic.

Responding to prompts from his captors, Bergdahl calls for U.S. forces to be returned home and expresses his worry that he may never again see his family.

He was shown eating at one point and sitting cross-legged. He choked up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.

dcmilitary -- The number of Airmen who take on roles once held by the Marines and Soldiers increases as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue. Airman 1st Class Joe Nguyen, 744th Communications Squadron infrastructure technician, is one Airman who took on such a role in a recent deployment to Afghanistan.


Photo: Airman 1st Class Joe Nguyen, 744th Communications Squadron network infrastructure technician, uses a fluke meter to test the consistency of cables on a CISCO Switch. On his first deployment to Afghanistan, from December 2008 to June 2009, Airman Nguyen served as the only certified Air Force MK-19 gunner for the Marine 201st 3rd Brigade.

When deployed as an infrastructure tech, a position which Airman Nguyen describes as a ‘‘jack-of-all-trades for communication,” he served as the only certified Air Force MK-19 gunner for the Marine 201st 3rd Brigade on his first deployment, from December 2008 to June 2009. Because he showed leadership skills and unyielding courage, he soon became the personal driver for the Marine brigade’s leadership. Airman Nguyen said that he was surprised by the level of responsibility his brigade gave him during this deployment.

SPIRO — A soldier from Oklahoma who was killed this week in Afghanistan was described by family Friday as an easygoing young man who joined the Army out of a sense of patriotism and a desire to climb the military ladder.

According to the Pentagon, Sgt. Vincent L.C. Owens, 21, died Monday at Forward Operating Base Sharana, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered earlier that day when enemy forces attacked his transport vehicle using direct fire in Yosuf Khel.

News Observer --Josiah Crumpler, 27, of Hillsborough died Monday in Afghanistan when insurgents opened fire on his Army patrol unit.

Crumpler, a specialist based at Fort Bragg, and his combat team were in the heart of turbulent fighting in northwestern Afghanistan. They were on foot when enemies shot at them and tossed a grenade in their direction.

Athens Banner-Herald -- A soldier who once called Athens his home was killed Monday when his unit was attacked by insurgents in the Badghis province of Northwestern Afghanistan.

Spc. Matthew D. Huston, 24, was killed along with 27-year-old Spc. Josiah D. Crumpler, a native of Hillsborough, N.C. — both members of the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

OREM — Lance Cpl. Carlos A. Aragon, 19, was a quiet, respectful young man who loved '70s rock music and trucks and who knew the dangers of service in Afghanistan.

"He understood what it was all about," said Aragon's stepfather, Brad Halladay of Lehi. "Before he left on his final deployment, he said, 'Dad, whatever happens, it's in the Lord's hands. If he wants me to come home, I'll come home.' "

The Signal -- A soldier from Stevenson Ranch who graduated from Hart High School was killed in Afghanistan on Monday - the first soldier from the Santa Clarita Valley killed in the Middle East in almost two years.

Paratrooper Ian Gelig, 25, of the 82nd Airborne Division was on a routine patrol in southern Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded near the vehicle he was riding in, said Major Brian Fickel, an Army spokesman.

JACKSON, Miss. — William “Seth” Ricketts wanted to be a soldier ever since he was a little boy, and when terrorists attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, he joined the Army the next day.

Ricketts was on his fifth tour of duty and looking forward to getting home for the birth of his third child when he was killed Saturday in Afghanistan, his father said.

The Star Ledger -- He came here as a boy from Communist Cuba and died serving his adopted country.

Sgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, an Army paratrooper from North Bergen, N.J., died Sunday of wounds sustained "while supporting combat operations," the military said.

Gorra was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. He was based at Kandahar Airfield, the Army said Thursday.

Seattle Times --Friends and family described Eric L. Ward, a 19-year-old Marine from Redmond and Mount Si graduate who died Feb. 21 in Afghanistan, as a proud and generous man who kept everybody around him laughing.

Lance Cpl. Ward died in a “hostile incident” in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Feb. 23. A machine-gunner, he was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.