Two United States soldiers who were murdered in an apparent “insider attack” in Afghanistan were identified by the Pentagon on Monday.
The Department of Defense said in a statement that 20-year-old Pfc. Brandon Jay Kreischer of Stryker, Ohio, and 24-year-old Spc. Michael Isaiah Nance of Chicago died “as a result of wounds sustained in a combat related incident” on Monday in Tarin Kowt, located in the southern part of Afghanistan.
“These young men were true All Americans and embodied the qualities of selfless service and courage as they answered our nation’s call to deploy to Afghanistan,” Col. Arthur Sellers, Commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said in a statement. “Our focus is now providing their loved ones with every available resource to help them in this most difficult time.”
Both soldiers were assigned to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Nance got into the Army in early 2017, and completed Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. before being assigned to 1-505th PIR as an automatic rifleman, according to the Pentagon. He is survived by his father in Chicago and mother in Glenwood, Illinois.
The 24-year-old’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Basic Parachutist Badge.