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They were sons and husbands, fathers and brothers. They were soldiers hailed as heroes and amazing young men, each a volunteer who chose an Army job that would place them on the front lines.

The bodies of Sgt. Eric M. Houck, Sgt. William M. Bays and Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge were returned to the United States late Monday after an Afghan soldier turned his gun on them in an apparent insider attack Saturday in eastern Afghanistans restive Nangarhar province, where they were assisting in the battle against Islamic State terrorists.

The sacred homecoming ceremony, known as a dignified transfer, in which the American flag-draped coffins carrying fallen servicemembers remains are returned to their families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware was very emotional and very real, Houcks wife Samantha said Tuesday morning.

There arent a lot of words my baby is on home soil, but this, this isnt the way it was supposed to be, she said through tears. It is not the way I wanted it.

American and Afghan officials said an Afghan commando killed the three 101st Airborne Division soldiers while they were conducting an operation in the Peka Valley, where U.S. and Afghan forces have been battling ISIS for months. The Taliban has claimed one of their insurgents infiltrated the Afghan military in order to kill foreign servicemembers, though the Pentagon has not confirmed those details, citing an investigation into the incident.

Their deaths come as the United States weighs its future in Afghanistan, where after nearly 16 years of war the longest in American history top Pentagon officials characterize it as a stalemate with the Taliban

We are not winning in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday morning when he was pressured by the committees chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., about the wars future.

The sacrifice of these heroes is a painful reminder that America is still an nation at war, McCain said. That is true in Afghanistan where after 15 years of war we face a stalemate and urgently need a change in strategy and an increase in resources if we are to turn the situation around.

Mattis said the new plan, which could include a recommendation to deploy up to 5,000 more troops, would be unveiled by mid-July. He said the United States was already taking actions to ensure the situation did not further deteriorate and he recognized the need for urgency in developing a new plan.

Since the United States began combat operations in Afghanistan in 2001, more than 2,300 Americans have been killed. Another 17,000-plus have been wounded in action.

This year, including the three killed Saturday, six American troops have been killed in Afghanistan all in Nangarhar province in the fight against ISIS.

Houck, Bays and Baldridge deployed with about 1,400 other soldiers from the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in the fall. Each one was due to return home by August.

Bays, 29, and Baldridge, 22, were infantrymen. They were squad leaders with the 3rd Brigades Company D, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. Houck, 25, was a forward observer, an artilleryman charged with guiding artillery and mortar fire from the front lines. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment.

Samantha Houck said the couple met when they were just children in the Baltimore suburb of Nottingham, Maryland. They spent afternoons together beginning in their early teenage years roaming their neighborhood. Sometimes they would play sports with friends. Sometimes they would just talk just the two of them.

I always knew, even then, he was the one, Houck said. I always knew.

He meant everything to me. He is the best person. Theres not a word to describe what he meant to me. Everything. He meant everything.

Houck joined the Army in 2013 and quickly rose in rank to sergeant. Serving in the Army and deploying were goals of his, his wife said.

I wanted him to follow his dreams, Houck said. I supported him in anything he would do. Anything.

She wants their children, 5-year-old Erick Jr. and 3-year-old Violet, to remember their father as loving and doting.

He did everything he could for them. Everything it took for them, Houck said. They were his world. Every time we talked [while he was deployed] he let them know how much he loved them.

Like Houck, Bays leaves behind a wife and children. Bays of Barstow in California joined the Army in 2009, according to a Fort Campbell statement. He had served a previous deployment to Afghanistan.

Bays wife Jasmin called the soldier the love of my life and our girls daddy in a public Facebook post.

True love, you only find once in life, and I am lucky because I found William, the most loving, kind, amazing man and best daddy you can wish for your kids, she wrote. The one you cant imagine to live without. My better half, my soulmate. My best friend. The one whom my soul loves.

The couple had three daughters, according to Jasmin Bays Facebook profile.

Baldridge of Youngsville, North Carolina, joined the Army in February 2013 and was serving his first deployment, according to the Fort Campbell statement.

In a post on her Facebook page, Baldridges mother, Tina Palmer, wrote Baldridge was an amazing man who was smart, compassionate and probably the funniest person I know.

He was such a good person. Everyone who knew him, loved him, Palmer wrote. He was everything a mom hopes and prays their child will be.

Baldridge graduated from Franklinton High School in 2012 and quickly entered the service.

He made an early commitment to the military during his high school career and maintained focus and selfless dedication after graduation, Russell Holloman, the schools principal said in a statement. Our community has truly lost a hero.

Baldridge was promoted to sergeant posthumously.

All three fallen soldiers were posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. Bays and Baldridge were also awarded the Combat Infantry Badge and Houck was awarded the Combat Action Badge.

Friends and family members have set up GoFundMe pages to support the families of Baldridge and Houck.

I want to thank everyone who has supported us through all this, Samantha Houck said Tuesday. I want to send my condolences to the other affected families. And I want people to know that my husband was truly one of a kind. He was one in a million.

2017 the Stars and Stripes.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The rest is here:
Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan Return To US In 'Very Emotional' Ceremony - Task & Purpose

WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): Alleging that ISI has been using Pakistani soil to plan terror attacks in Afghanistan, the newly formed World Muhajir Congress (WMC) in a letter to President Ashraf Ghani has extended its full support in his fight against terrorism.

It is now a well-established fact that Pakistani soil is being used for terrorist attacks not only in Afghanistan but also in other countries, the World Muhajir Congress said in a letter to Ghani.

Reports from all major news organizations and think tanks suggest that Haqqani network, factions of Taliban, ISIS and Al Qaeda are all operating from save havens in Pakistan under the protection of Pakistani Army and its notorious intelligence agency, ISI, it alleged.

Representing the Muhajir cause at international level, the Congress in its letter dated June 11 strongly condemns the recent suicide attacks in Kabul which have killed and injured hundreds of innocent Afghan civilians.

We can feel the pain of our Afghan brothers as thousands of Muhajirs have also lost their lives in the war against terrorism. We stand against ruthless terrorism being inflicted on our Afghan brothers and sisters in the name of religion by killers operating from Pakistani soil, it said.

It is evident that Pakistani military establishment and ISI do not see Afghanistan as a respectable neighboring country. Instead, they see it in the context of regional security and use their sponsored terrorist outfits as proxies to increase their strategic depth against India. World Muhajir Congress strongly condemns such policies, the letter said.

Noting that the Afghan government has been bravely fighting the menace of Taliban for more than two decades, the letter said with the emergence of murderous outfit ISIS, the region is now faced with another serious security threat.

The footprint of ISIS in recent times has extended from the Middle East and Afghanistan to the port city of Pakistan, Karachi, where secular and liberal Muhajirs are in majority who support liberal MQM political party, it said.

The letter alleged that under the blatant and unashamed patronage of Pakistan Army and ISI, religious and sectarian terrorist outfits are making Karachi as their operational hub.

This is an alarming trend and World Muhajir Congress will continue to highlight this serious issue at every appropriate international forum. Muhajir Nation and their sole political representative party have been the major obstacle in ISIs plans to handover port city of Karachi to religious terrorist outfits and this is the reason for Armys continued crackdown in Karachi against Muhajirs and their elected political party, wrote the World Muhajir Congress.

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ISI supports terrorism in Afghanistan: Muhajir Congress - Pajhwok Afghan News (subscription) (blog)

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge loved being a soldier since joining right after high school graduation and re-enlisted before shipping out late last year to Afghanistan, where he was killed with two fellow soldiers over the weekend, his aunt said Monday.

"He just loved adventure, and he was always ready to challenge himself and make himself better in some way," Melissa Strickland of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, said as her nephew's body was returning to the United States. But "the thing he was most passionate about was his family."

Baldridge, 22, of Youngsville, North Carolina, was one of three 101st Airborne Division soldiers killed Saturday in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province, authorities said. Also killed were Sgt. William M. Bays, 29, of Barstow, California, and Sgt. Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore.

Sgt. Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore, Md.; Sgt. William M. Bays, 29, of Barstow, Calif.; and Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge, 22, of Youngsville, N.C.

Department of Defense

The Department of Defense said in a statement that the soldiers died of wounds received while supporting a military operation called Freedom's Sentinel. But it didn't elaborate, saying the deaths remain under investigation and no other details were being released at this time.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer spoke about the deaths at his regular press briefing Monday.

"I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the three service members that were killed this weekend in Afghanistan. The incident is currently under investigation, but our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of these American heroes who've lost their lives in this tragic event," Spicer told reporters.

Baldridge's maternal grandmother Debbie Horan remembered a happy young boy who had no fear of the spotlight.

"Even at the youngest age, we'd go into a restaurant and he loved music and he would just belt out a song and everybody would just stand around and listen to him sing, at 4 years old," Horan said.

Baldridge's family was proud of his service, but knew it could come with a price, reports CBS Raleigh, North Carolina affiliate WNCN-TV.

"There was always that possibility, which we were all well aware of, and accepted that fact, although you don't want to," said his brother, Zach Palmer.

Palmer remembers Baldridge as optimistic and always ready for a good laugh.

Baldridge and Houck had been due to return home next month, their families said.

Three U.S. soldiers were killed in an attack in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan on Sat., June 10, 2017.

CBS News

Houck enlisted a few years after graduating from high school in the Baltimore suburbs. He had married his high school sweetheart and found in military duty a way to support his growing family and serve his country, his father said. The soldier leaves behind two young children.

"He was a husband and father first," said his father, Mike Houck. "He was a son and brother, and then he was a soldier. His family was the most important thing to him." He also loved playing soccer, football and baseball.

Mike Houck said he was nervous when he learned his only son would be heading overseas.

"If he was nervous, he didn't let on," Houck added. "He took it bravely, as his responsibility as a soldier. He was unwavering in his dedication to that. But as a parent you're nervous every day."

Houck began his military career as a private and rose to the rank of sergeant in just three years, his father said. He added that his son would travel in forward positions with the infantry and was responsible for directing airstrikes.

"He was exemplary," Houck said. "He was a hell of a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a soldier."

There was no immediate information about Bays, the third soldier who died.

Read more from the original source:
Families share memories of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan - CBS News

New York Times

US Is 'Not Winning' in Afghanistan. Mattis Promises to Change That. New York Times WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Jim Mattis promised Congress on Tuesday that the Trump administration would hammer out a new strategy for Afghanistan by mid-July to turn around a war that he acknowledged the United States was not winning.. White House expected to grant Pentagon authority for Afghanistan troop levelsCNN International Mattis: 'We are not winning in Afghanistan,' new strategy is weeks awayWashington Post Defense Secretary James Mattis admits US 'not winning in Afghanistan'CNBC TIME -Politico -Reuters all 193 news articles »

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US Is 'Not Winning' in Afghanistan. Mattis Promises to Change That. - New York Times

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. Sgt. Eric M. Houck was a dedicated soldier, a proud father of two and was several months into his first overseas deployment when he was killed in Afghanistan with two fellow soldiers, his father says.

Houck, 25, was to have returned home next month. He died along with two fellow members of the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, an Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line.

The sergeant from Baltimore was killed Saturday in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province along with Sgt. William M. Bays, 29, of Barstow, California, and Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge, 22, of Youngsville, North Carolina, authorities said.

The Department of Defense said in a statement Monday that the soldiers died of wounds received while supporting a military operation called Freedom's Sentinel. But it didn't elaborate, saying the deaths remain under investigation and no other details were being released at this time.

"Today, as we grieve, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Cpl. Baldridge, Sgt. Houck and Sgt. Bays. We take this as a family loss," said Maj. Gen. Andrew Poppas, Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell. "In the days ahead, the 101st Soldiers ... will continue the fight against terrorism with unbridled determination."

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer spoke about the deaths at his regular press briefing Monday.

"I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the three service members that were killed this weekend in Afghanistan. The incident is currently under investigation, but our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of these American heroes who've lost their lives in this tragic event," Spicer told reporters.

Houck enlisted a few years after graduating from high school in the Baltimore suburbs. He had married his high school sweetheart and found in military duty a way to support his growing family and serve his country, his father said. The soldier leaves behind two young children.

"He was a husband and father first," said his father, Mike Houck. "He was a son and brother, and then he was a soldier. His family was the most important thing to him." He also loved playing soccer, football and baseball.

Mike Houck said he was nervous when he learned his only son would be heading overseas.

"If he was nervous, he didn't let on," Houck added. "He took it bravely, as his responsibility as a soldier. He was unwavering in his dedication to that. But as a parent you're nervous every day."

Houck began his military career as a private and rose to the rank of sergeant in just three years, his father said. He added that his son would travel in forward positions with the infantry and was responsible for directing airstrikes.

"He was exemplary," Houck said. "He was a hell of a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a soldier."

In North Carolina, WRAL-TV reported that the principal of Franklinton High School said many were saddened there by the death of Baldridge. A 2012 graduate of that school, he had gone to Afghanistan last October and was due to return in August, relatives told the station.

"Those that knew Dillon well remember him as a distinguished alumni of the class of 2012, who was a kindhearted and possessed a truly giving personality," Franklinton High School Principal Russell Holloman said in a statement. "He made an early commitment to the military during his high school career and maintained that focus and selfless dedication after graduation."

There was no immediate information about Barstow, the third soldier who died.

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NC soldier among 3 killed in Afghanistan, deaths under investigation - Greensboro News & Record