Tuesday, October 16, 2012

R.I.P. - Spc. Brittany B. Gordon

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Spc. Brittany B. Gordon, 24, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died Oct. 13, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device.  She was assigned to the 572 Military Intelligence Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

            For more information the media may contact the 7th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office by calling 253-477-5746 or 253-477-0174.  After duty hours, call 253-477-5543, and ask for the 7th Infantry Division public affairs officer on call.

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from Tampa Bay Times:
By Kameel Stanley, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, October 16, 2012
...
Gordon is the daughter of St. Petersburg assistant police chief Cedric Gordon and his former wife, Brenda Gordon. The 24-year-old grew up in St. Petersburg and graduated from St. Petersburg High School in 2006.

She is the first female soldier from the Tampa Bay area killed in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Her family was notified of her death Saturday. Her remains arrived early Monday morning at Dover Air Force Base.

Family members said Brittany Gordon's parents met the body in Delaware. Services have not been announced yet.

"I know that Chief Gordon was extremely proud of Brittany and all that she accomplished in her life," police Chief Chuck Harmon said in a statement. "Her life of service and especially service to her country stand as a testament to the type of person she was."

Family friend Cynthia Jolliff-Johnson said Brittany Gordon was vivacious.

"She was kind. She was compassionate. She really had a joie de vivre," Jolliff-Johnson said.

Gordon joined the military in 2010. This was her first deployment. She was assigned to the 572 Military Intelligence Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, the military said.

Gordon worked in military communications, relatives said. She was scheduled to return home in December.

Some 20,000 of the 205,000 service members serving in Afghanistan are women, according to the Department of Defense. Pentagon statistics show that, as of Monday, 152 military women have been killed and 947 wounded in combat and noncombat incidents in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Defense Department says there have been more than 2,000 total military deaths in Afghanistan.

Gordon is the 12th female soldier from Florida to die in the wars.
...
Read the full article here: http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/war/suicide-attack-killed-female-soldier-from-st-pete-says-cw-bill-young/1256498
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