Army Spc. Jared W. Kubasak

Died December 12, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

25, of Rocky Mount, Va.; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed Dec. 12 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle during patrol operations in Baghdad.

Soldier killed during second tour in Iraq

Associated Press

ROCKY MOUNT, Va. — A soldier in his second tour of duty in Iraq was killed when his armored vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb, his family said Monday.

Army Spc. Jared William Kubasak died either late Sunday or early Monday, a family representative told The Roanoke Times for a story published Tuesday.

Kubasak, 25, was serving with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based in Fort Carson, Colo. He was home as recently as last month to celebrate his 25th birthday, family friends said, and was scheduled to return home in March after his tour ended.

Patti Smith, a neighbor of the family, said Kubasak visited the Virginia Veteran’s Care center, where she works, when he was home last month to visit with war veterans.

Franklin County Circuit Judge William Alexander ordered flags flown at half-staff until further notice at the courthouse and at the adjacent Virgil Goode Building.

Soldier remembered for his focus and commitment

Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A 25-year-old soldier based at Fort Carson has been killed in Iraq, becoming the 67th soldier from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment to die in the war.

Spc. Jared W. Kubasak, 25, of Rocky Mount, Va., died when a roadside bomb detonated near his convoy, the Army said Tuesday. He was part of the regiment’s 3rd Squadron. In all, 153 Fort Carson have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

Kubasak was home as recently as last month to celebrate his birthday, family friends said, and was scheduled to return home in March after his tour ended.

Patti Smith, a neighbor of the family, said Kubasak visited the Virginia Veteran’s Care center, where she works, when he was home last month to visit with veterans. His high school principal, Benny Gibson, remembered Kubasak as a Cub Scout who grew up to be a serious, focused young man.

“The thing about Jared is you could see his progression each year in maturity,” said Gibson, principal of Franklin County High School in Rocky Mount, population 5,100.

Gibson knew Kubasak as a child, one of the Scouts in the same troop as his own son. He told The Gazette newspaper the well-muscled, lanky teenager was known for his dedication to getting things done right.

“I knew he would do well and be committed to whatever he did,” Gibson said. “I knew the Army is what he wanted to do.”

The regiment has recently been tracking down insurgents ahead of Iraq’s parliamentary elections. Regiment spokesman Maj. Gary Dangerfield said cooperation with Iraqi forces is key.

“Iraqi security forces are out conducting patrols ... something that was nearly impossible several months ago,” he wrote the Gazette in an e-mail from Tal Afar. “The sight of children playing in the newly reconstructed city park was a heartwarming reminder that this city is moving in the right direction.”

Dangerfield said similar progress is being made in Baghdad, where Kubasak was working to train Iraqi forces.

Soldier changes specialty shortly before death

Associated Press

FORT CARSON, Colo. — A soldier who changed his specialty from mechanic to scout so he go on patrol was among three soldiers with the 3rd Army Cavalry Regiment who died in Iraq and memorialized during a service Wednesday.

Cpl. Jared Kubasak, 25, of Rock Mount, Va., died Dec. 12 when a roadside bomb hit his Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The other two men, who died of non-combat related illnesses, were: Sgt. Denis Gallardo, 22, who had only been an American citizen for a year; and Sgt. Timothy Boyce, 29, of Salt Lake City who was still celebrating the birth of his daughter.

Gallardo died of pneumonia on Nov. 24 in Tal Afar, Iraq, while Boyce died Dec. 16 after suffering a stroke.

The regiment, which is expected to return from Iraq next month, has lost 156 soldiers in the war.

Lt. Col. Mark Solomon said Kubasak “was the kind of soldier who couldn’t imagine not being in the Army and he wanted to do more in the war on terror.”

Solomon said Kubasak changed his military specialty, or job in the military, to scout shortly before the regiment was deployed to Iraq about 10 months ago.

“The true heroes of this war are the soldiers, like these men, who will not be coming home,” Solomon said.

Franklin bridge named in honor of fallen soldier

The Associated Press

ROCKY MOUNT, Va. — A bridge in Franklin County has been named in honor of a soldier who was killed in Iraq in 2005.

Media outlets report that a ceremony was held Wednesday at the Army Corporal Jared William Kubasak Bridge. The bridge on Route 40 spans the Pigg River near Rocky Mount.

The 25-year-old soldier from Rocky Mount was killed Dec. 12, 2005, by a roadside bomb.

Kubasak was a member of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based in Fort Carson, Colorado.