The U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation formally concluded their combat mission a year ago, shifting to a training and advisory role.
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“This was clearly a combat situation”, emphasized the spokesman.
Echoing the president, Carter told Pentagon reporters, “The combat mission has ended and our mission now, on a day-to-day basis, is train, advise, and assist and counterterrorism and only to undertake other kinds of operations, either to protect our own forces or in an extremist situation”. “We know that there are Americans putting themselves at risk in Afghanistan and Iraq in these positions”, he said.
Green Beret Staff Sgt. Matthew McClintock was killed in action in the Marjah district of Helmand province on Tuesday, as a result of “wounds suffered when the enemy attacked his unit with small arms fire”.
Two service members injured in the attack were safely evacuated to Kandahar, Cook said.
The troops were deployed in response to Taliban gains in Helmand, with an explicit eye toward fighting them off. United States warplanes have been increasing their airstrikes against Helmand all the while, so why the pretense of a “non-combat” situation?
Asked whether Tuesday’s incident meant American troops were engaged in combat, Cook repeatedly argued that the USA military has transitioned to a TAA role. “That is crystal clear”.
“In this particular instance, it was a clearing operation in which they were with Afghan forces in Helmand province”, he added.
“This was a circumstance in which they, as I understand it, came under fire, and the incident took place, and Staff Sgt. McClintock lost his life, unfortunately”.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
“Staff Sergeant McClintock died in support of Operation Resolute Support, which is helping to keep Americans safe here at home and helping to provide a better future for the Afghan people”, Cook said.
Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke is a former Navy SEAL commander.
The Washington Post reports on Mr. Zinke’s comments, “There is every indication”, he said, that air support and rescue efforts were “arbitrarily delayed”. Instead, he said, the aircraft was only allowed to fire into a field.
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“If there was a decision to delay the QRF [quick reaction force] or call off air strikes on enemy combatants after the ground commanders ordered it, that is a clear dereliction of duty”.
