A statement from the family of Jared Day

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 6:22 PM Share

The following is a statement provided to the AfPak Channel by the family of Jared Day, a member of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group killed in Afghanistan Saturday when a helicopter carrying Day and his teammates was shot down in Wardak Province.

This weekend we lost our son, brother, friend, and hero. Jared William Day was killed doing what he loved. He died alongside his friends, some of the bravest men this world has ever known.

Jared joined the United States Navy because he loved this country, the people who live here, and the freedoms we all have. Jared was incredibly brave and determined, with a fierce sense of humor. Upon enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 2002, Jared successfully and honorably served in various commands and task forces in support of the Global War on Terrorism. This culminated with him making the ultimate sacrifice while deployed to Afghanistan. In the service of his country, Jared deployed numerous times to Africa, Asia, and the Middle-East, earning many personal awards and decorations for valor, combat, and meritorious service. Jared was an Information Systems Technician First Class. Jared's skill and expertise led to his selection as an elite member of Naval Special Warfare Development Group, where he was a Tactical Communicator. He was truly special, not only to our family, but to this country.

We were invited to Dover Air Force Base to welcome Jared and his fallen brothers home from Afghanistan. There we had the honor of meeting the President of the United States of America, many other members of the Department of Defense, and other dignitaries. Receiving a hug from President Obama was impactful, as well as having a few minutes of his undivided attention to talk about Jared and our love for him. It was an honor to hear praise for our son and brother, as well as for his friends from the Commander in Chief himself.

We are providing no details because we want to protect those brave men and women who are still fighting for all of us. We request that our privacy be respected, as well as the privacy of all of the families affected by this tragic loss.

We are deeply appreciative of the support we have received from family, friends, and the incredible U.S. Navy. We are eternally grateful to the servicemen that have been with us from the beginning of this tragedy. They have given us the support we need in order to be strong for each other, as well as for Jared. Jared meant the world to us and to his teammates. The loss of our son and brother is indescribable, and our love and pride for him is unmatched and cannot be measured. Jared's memory will live in our hearts forever.

EXPLORE:AFPAK, AFGHANISTAN, AFPAK CHANNEL, AL QAEDA, SECURITY, TERRORISM, U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

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MARTY MARTEL

11:26 PM ET

August 10, 2011

U. S. responsible for death of its own soldiers

American soldiers are dying in Afghanistan because of their own government’s misguided policies.

The seeds of the ‘current Afghan tragedy’ were sowed in Washington when Bush administration decided to allow Musharraf to spirit away by airlift hundreds, if not thousands, of Taliban operatives cornered by the advancing Northern Alliance in Kunduz in November, 2001. Pakistan relocated those Taliban cadres including Mullah Mohammed Omar in Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan (now relocated to Karachi by Pakistani ISI to protect them from possible US drone attacks) and Haqqani network (HQN) in North Waziristan from where Mullah Omar’s QST and Haqqani’s HQN have been planning raids in Afghanistan ever since.

U. S. has deliberately deluded itself about Afghan Taliban’s Pakistani connections in fueling and sustaining Afghan insurgency as reported by Matt Waldman in ‘The sun in the sky‘ on 6/13/2010, corroborated by WikiLeaks leaks on 7/25/2010 and then further corroborated by Chris Alexander, Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005 and Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan from 2005 until 2009 in his article on 7/30/2010 titled ‘The huge scale of Pakistan‘s complicity‘.

Duplicitous Pakistan has U. S. under the barrel of a gun - US can NOT use its aid leverage to force Pakistan to stop supporting terrorist groups who kill US/NATO troops in Afghanistan day in and day out because US needs Pakistan’s help in ferrying supplies to those very US/NATO troops.

Previous US ambassador Anne Patterson to Pakistan, wrote in a secret review in 2009 that ‘Pakistan's Army and ISI are covertly sponsoring four militant groups - Haqqani‘s HQN, Mullah Omar‘s QST, Al Qaeda and LeT - and will not abandon them for any amount of US money‘, as diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show.

Ambassador Patterson had NO reason to mislead her own State Department and U. S. government.

Following are verbatim quotes from what Gen (rtd) Jack Keane said at a discussion on Afghanistan organized by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank on June 30, 2011:

1. "The truth is, the ISI aids and abets the sanctuaries in Pakistan that the Afghan (Taliban) operate out of. They provide training for them, they provide resources for them and they provide intelligence for them. From those sanctuaries, every single day Afghan fighters come into Afghanistan and kill and maim us".

2. "There's a direct relationship of ISI's complicity and the deaths of American soldiers and the catastrophic wounding of those soldiers. The chief of staff of the Pakistani military is complicit. He used to be the director of ISI. He put the guy in there who is in charge now and he has full knowledge of what I'm just describing".

3. "This partnership has got to be based on that harsh reality. There are two ammonium nitrate factories in Pakistan. 80 per cent of the explosive devices that are used to kill our soldiers, kill Afghan security forces and kill Afghan people come from Pakistan."

4. "All of what I just said to you, when we confront them with this, they lie to us.

With Pakistani Army headed by General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, who once headed ISI, repeatedly lying to the United States, America‘s Afghan mission was doomed from the very beginning.

For deliberately ignoring Taliban’s Pakistani connections, US deserves to be duped by Pakistan.

SALRASHI

10:42 AM ET

August 11, 2011

Marty, I understand you're

Marty, I understand you're infatuated with your own ability to put together a sentence/ argument and offer your riveting interpretation of U.S. policy toward the AfPak region.

Newsflash: nobody cares about your analysis. Yes, you point out several important things that construct the context surrounding Jared Day and other's service in Afghanistan. We understand why American soldiers are in Afghanistan, and why they are in danger. If you really want to broadcast your opinion, email the editor of Foreign Policy, don't use the comment section of an article that has less to do about policy and more to do about humanity to stir us with your rhetorical bluster.

Have compassion.

KING SOLOMON

11:39 PM ET

August 12, 2011

I don't support American troops

I don't support American invasions; I don't support American troops and I don't support American killers.

Aurangzeb Khan
lalqila.wordpress.com

WENDYCHAM

6:28 PM ET

August 25, 2011

Jared Day

I am humbled to be protected by a young man like Mr. Day. I think his family should be honored as well to have given one of there own for all of us. Comments like a couple here I can only hope came from another country that doesn't honor its soldiers the way we do in America. Sad for them because they typically live in a society that does not have the freedoms we do.

Thank you to the Day family for sharing your story. It was touching.

ALBERTOXX

8:46 AM ET

August 31, 2011

With Pakistani Army headed by

With Pakistani Army headed by General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, who once headed ISI, repeatedly lying to the United States, America‘s Afghan mission traveling was doomed from the very beginning.

EGISTUBAGUS

3:21 AM ET

September 4, 2011

my deep condolences to Jared William

please send my deep condolences to Jared William//mielecoffeemaker,
vikingcoffeemaker//, i believe that USA has lost one of the best pattriot in USA, we also know that Jared's skill and expertise led to his selection as an elite member of Naval Special Warfare Development Group, where he was a Tactical Communicator. He was truly special, not only to our family, but to this country.//boschcoffeemaker,topratedcoffeemakers,
coffeemakersratings//, The loss of Jared Williamis indescribable, and our love and pride for him is unmatched and cannot be measured. Jared's memory will live in our hearts forever. //fibroidsinuterussymptoms, review777,// may i could have spirit to serve country like him
glidersfornursery//, indonesiadailynews