Military deaths

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel who died in Afghanistan and Iraq or at a U.S. military hospital of their injuries:

Adam Brown, 36, of Hot Springs, Ark.; chief petty officer, Navy. Brown was killed March 18 in a battle with heavily armed militants in Afghanistan. A chief special warfare operator, he was assigned to a SEAL team based in Virginia Beach, Va.

Rick J. Centanni, 19, of Yorba Linda; lance corporal, Marine Corps Reserve. Centanni was one of two Marines killed Wednesday when their armored vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Marja region of southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Corps Reserve at Camp Pendleton.

Joel D. Clarkson, 23, of Fairbanks, Alaska; sergeant, Army. Clarkson died March 16 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany after being shot in the head March 13 while on patrol in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Robert J. Cottle, 45, of Yorba Linda; sergeant major, Marine Corps Reserve. Cottle was one of two Marines killed Wednesday when their armored vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Marja region of southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Corps Reserve at Camp Pendleton.

Robert M. Rieckhoff, 26, of Kenosha, Wis.; specialist, Army. Rieckhoff was killed March 18 when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the watchtower he was in while on guard duty in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Ft. Drum, N.Y.

Carlos M. Santos-Silva, 32, of Clarksville, Tenn.; sergeant first class, Army. Santos-Silva was killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Justin J. Wilson, 24, of Palm City, Fla.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Wilson was killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near him in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Sources: Department of Defense, Times staff reports and the Associated Press