President Donald Trump and members of his administration traveled to Dover Air Force in Delaware on Monday evening for the dignified transfer of the remains of two Army Special Forces soldiers killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan on Saturday.
- Sgt. Javier Jaguar Gutierrez and Sgt. Antonio Rey Rodriguez, both 28, were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
- The two soldiers were killed on Saturday when an Afghan soldier opened fire on a combined U.S.-Afghan special operations team that was meeting with district leaders in the country’s Nangarhar Province.
- Six U.S. service members have been killed in Afghanistan since the start of the year.
From left, General Counsel of the Army James McPherson, President Donald Trump, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James C. McConville, Vice President Mike Pence, Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston and Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist(Associated Press/Steve Ruark)
- Trump was accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, who stood with his hand over his heart as the transfer cases containing the remains of Gutierrez and Rodriguez were carried from a C-17 Globemaster III and placed in a transport vehicle.
- “These are terrible sacrifices for the families. And these guys are heroes, they’re real warriors and did a great job for the American people,” National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien told reporters, per the Associated Press. “These are tough times. It’s tough for the president but he thinks it’s important to be there for the families and recognize them.”
- Trump had previously traveled to Dover with reporters in November when he receive the remains of two soldiers — Chief Warrant Officer David Knadle and Chief Warrant Officer Kirk Fuchigami Jr. — after they were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan’s Logar Province.