Pentagon identifies 2 US soldiers killed in Afghanistan

The Defense Department says 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" in Tarin Kowt, in southern Afghanistan.

Fort Bragg comes together, begins tough process after two soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Pentagon spokesperson Jessica R. Maxwell says the incident is under investigation.

Both soldiers were assigned to the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

U.S. officials said Monday that an Afghan soldier had shot and killed two American service members in Afghanistan.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak on the record about details that had not yet been made public.

Below is more from a press release released Tuesday night by Fort Bragg.

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Two 82nd Airborne Division Paratroopers were killed while conducting operations Monday, July 29 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The incident remains under investigation.

Spc. Michael Nance of Chicago, Ill. and Pfc. Brandon Kreischer of Stryker, Ohio, were members of Company B., 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division when they were killed by small arms fire.

"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," said Col. Arthur Sellers, Commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team. "Our focus is now providing their loved ones with every available resource to help them in this most difficult time."

Nance joined the Army in January 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.

His 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.

Nance is survived by his father of Chicago, Ill. and mother of Glenwood, Ill.

Kreischer joined the Army in June 2018 and completed Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. before being assigned to 1-505th PIR as a rifleman.

His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Basic Parachutist Badge.

Kreischer is survived by his wife of Fayetteville, N.C.