Army Staff Sgt. Charles R. Browning

Died June 1, 2007 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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31, of Tucson, Ariz.; assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment, Arizona National Guard, Gilbert, Ariz.; died June 1 in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

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Arizona National Guardsman killed in Afghanistan

By The Associated Press

PHOENIX — An Arizona National Guardsman died in Afghanistan on Friday after his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, the Guard announced.

Staff Sgt. Charles Browning, 31, from Florence, was assigned to the Guard’s B Company, 1-158th Infantry Battalion. The unit deployed to Afghanistan in March.

“Sgt. Browning was a great soldier, patriot and family man and friend to many,” said Major Gen. David P. Rataczak, the Arizona National Guard’s Adjutant General, in a written statement. “His loss will be felt by all members of the National Guard family.”

Browning worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections and is survived by his wife and two stepdaughters.

He was born in Whidbey Island, Wash., but moved to Tucson when he was 8. After graduating from high school, he joined the Army and served in New York, Kentucky, Panama and Korea. Browning joined the Arizona National Guard after ending regular duty and was deployed to Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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Army sergeant from Tucson killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

PHOENIX — Army Staff Sgt. Charles R. Browning loved the outdoors. He loved camping, road trips and hiking.

And Browning cared about the military — especially the infantry — and serving his country.

Military officials announced June 8 that the 31-year-old National Guardsman died June 1 in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan, after his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Browning, of Tucson, died of wounds suffered from the explosive device, according to the Department of Defense.

He was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment, Arizona National Guard, Gilbert.

Some of the National Guardsman who once served with him elsewhere were told of his death several days later as they ate lunch during a training exercise in Phoenix.

“It was just disbelief,” said Staff Sgt. David Swingle who served with Browning on a prior deployment. “Jaws dropped, forks dropped. Just complete disbelief.”

Born on Whidbey Island, Wash., Browning moved to Tucson when he was 8. After graduating from high school, he joined the active-duty military and served in Kentucky, New York, Panama and Korea.

In 2004, Browning enlisted in the National Guard and, at one point, was deployed to Kuwait.

He volunteered to serve in Afghanistan with the Arizona Army National Guard’s Bravo Company, 1-158th Infantry Battalion.

In his civilian life, Browning worked as a prison guard for Arizona’s Department of Corrections. While he was deployed abroad, the department honored him during a special Veterans Day celebration, said DOC spokeswoman Katie Decker.

Swingle remembered Browning as a man who loved passing along his knowledge of infantry operations to younger soldiers and who sometimes talked about his passion for the outdoors.

“He cared about honor, about country, about service,” Swingle said.

Browning is survived by a wife and two stepdaughters.

Funeral services were scheduled for June 14 in Tucson.