Three Fort Bragg soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Sgt. Jacob M. Schwallie, 22, Spc. Chase S. Marta, 24, and Pfc. Dustin D. Gross, 19, -- all with the 1st Brigade Combat Team – died from blast-related injuries they received when a roadside bomb struck their military while they were on a patrol in southern Ghazni Province.

Schwallie was an assistant team leader with Company C, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, and a native of Clarksville, Tenn. Marta, of Chico, Calif., and Gross, of Jeffersonville, Ky., were scouts for the same unit.

Each paratrooper was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

As of Tuesday, at least 1,834 members of the U.S. military had died in the country as a result of the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, according to the Associated Press. At least 1,526 of those deaths were the results of hostile action, according to the military.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 15,858 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.