Army Spc. Eric N. Lembke

Died October 23, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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25, of Tampa, Fla.; assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Oct. 23 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed was Pfc. Kimble A. Han.

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2 Carson soldiers die in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

FORT CARSON, Colo. — Two more soldiers based at Fort Carson have been killed in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department announced Monday that Pfc. Kimble A. Han of Lehi, Utah, and Spc. Eric N. Lembke of Tampa, Fla., died Oct. 23 of wounds suffered when their vehicle was attacked by an improvised explosive device.

The soldiers were attached to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion.

Han, 30, entered the service in January 2008. He served a tour of duty in Iraq between February and May of this year and was transferred to Afghanistan.

Lembke, 25, also joined the Army in January 2008 and served similar tours of duty.

On Oct. 19, the Defense Department said four other soldiers with the same company had died in Afghanistan when their vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device. Killed were Staff Sgt. Glen H. Stivison Jr., 34, of Blairsville, Pa.; Spc. Jesus O. Flores, Jr., 28, of La Mirada, Calif.; Spc. Daniel C. Lawson, 33, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; and Pfc. Brandon M. Styer, 19, of Lancaster, Pa.

At least 47 U.S. service members have been killed in October. Fourteen Americans were killed in helicopter crashes Monday.

On Oct. 3, eight soldiers based at Fort Carson were killed in an attack at a remote outpost in northeastern Afghanistan.

This has been the deadliest year for international and U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban. Fighting spiked around the presidential election in August, and 51 U.S. soldiers died that month — the deadliest for American forces in the eight-year war.

The latest deaths came as President Barack Obama prepared to meet his national security team for a sixth full-scale conference on the future of the troubled war.

Obama is debating whether to send tens of thousands more troops to the country, while the Afghan government is rushing to hold a Nov. 7 runoff election between President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah after it was determined that the August election depended on fraudulent votes.