Al-Sadr Rattles Saber Over U.S. Presence in Iraq Past Year End

Posted Nov 6, 2011 by Howard Altman

Updated Nov 6, 2011 at 09:26 PM

During a week when Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric and leader of the Mahdi Army, told Al Arabiya that he would not tolerate any U.S. presence beyond the end of the year, a 25-year-old Army first lieutenant was killed in Kirkuk.

1st Lt. Dustin D. Vincent, 25, of Mesquite, Texas, died Nov. 3, in Kirkuk province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

Staff Sgt. Ari R. Cullers, 28, of New London, Conn., died Oct. 30, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent rocket-propelled grenade exploded near him.  He was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Two soldiers died Nov. 1, in Paktia province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device.  They were assigned to the 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard, Tulsa, Okla.
       
Killed were:
       
Sgt. Christopher D. Gailey, 26, of Ochelata, Okla.; and
       
Pfc. Sarina N. Butcher, 19, of Checotah, Okla.

There have now been 1,814 U.S. casualties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and 4,490 in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn