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TAAC-Air honors fallen four years later

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jeff M. Nagan
  • 438th Air Expeditionary Wing
KABUL, Afghanistan --  In honor of nine teammates who lost their lives four years ago, Train, Advise, Assist Command – Air marched nine kilometers at both operating locations, North Hamid Karzai International Airport and Kandahar Air Field, April 27, 2015.

More than 250 U.S. and coalition service members along with contractors walked the distance, each kilometer symbolizing each life lost that day, which served to not only honor their fallen brothers and sisters but also the resolve to continue their mission.

“Today we honor our fallen brothers and sister in arms,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Rothstein, commanding general, Train, Advise, Assist Command – Air. “We say a prayer not only for them, but also for their sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. That doesn’t even include the much larger circle of family and friends we know who were also impacted by this tragedy. Each step is for them, for those lost and for those left behind.”

After the march, participants at the TAAC-Air headquarters in Kabul displayed nine battle field crosses, complete with helmets, rifles and boots in front of a memorial also honoring those same nine individuals. As Chief Master Sgt. Alex del Valle, TAAC-Air command chief master sergeant, read each of the nine names aloud, a service member marched forward, placed a picture of the fallen at the base of the battle cross and saluted. Once the ninth name was read, all members present saluted and Taps played.

U.S. Airmen and Soldiers in Kandahar also walked nine kilometers, pausing after each kilometer to read a biography of one of the fallen before continuing their march. They also had a brief ceremony, which had a roll call. When each of the names of the nine were read, there followed only unnerving silence. After the final name, Tech. Sgt. Joshua Jacob played Taps on the bugle.

The tragic events of 2011 occurred at the Air Command and Control Center, located at the Afghan Air Force headquarters at the Kabul Air Wing, when a veteran Afghan pilot opened fire, fatally wounding eight Airmen and a retired U.S. Air Force officer working as a contractor.

Four years later, the same mission of building a professional, capable and sustainable Afghan Air Force continues. Nearly each day, U.S. and coalition service members travel to the Kabul Air Wing and Kandahar Air Wing to advise their Afghan partners.

“Their memory is etched not just in the history of this organization but into the fabric of the Afghan Air Force,” said Rothstein. “The truest, most noble way to honor their memory is to take on their banner and continue their work, which is what the members of TAAC-Air do each and every day.”


These Airmen paid the ultimate price while serving as NATO Air Training Command – Afghanistan advisors on 27 April 2011. They will forever be remembered as the NATC-A Nine:

Lt. Col. Frank D. Bryant Jr., of Knoxville, Tenn., who was assigned to the 56th Operations Group at Luke AFB, Ariz.

Maj. Philip D. Ambard, of Edmonds, Wash., an assistant professor of foreign languages at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Maj. Jeffrey O. Ausborn, of Gadsden, Ala., a C-27 instructor pilot assigned to the 99th Flying Training Squadron at Randolph AFB, Texas.

Maj. David L. Brodeur, of Auburn, Mass., an 11th Air Force executive officer at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Maj. Raymond G. Estelle II, of New Haven, Conn., who was assigned to Air Combat Command headquarters at JB Langley-Eustis, Va.

Maj. Charles A. Ransom, of Midlothian, Va., a member of the 83rd Network Operations Squadron at Langley-Eustis.

Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, of Hockley, Texas, who was assigned to the 25th Operational Weather Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.

Master Sgt. Tara R. Brown, of Deltona, Fla., who was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at JB Andrews, Md.

Retired Lt. Col. James McLaughlin Jr., of Santa Rosa, Calif. He was a contractor who worked for MPRI, a division of L3 Communications, helping with helicopter flight instruction.