Army Staff Sgt. Timothy R. McGill

Died September 21, 2013 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

30, of Ramsey, N.J., assigned to 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, Middletown, R.I.; died Sept. 21 at Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire while conducting range training in Gardez, Paktia Province, Afghanistan. Also killed in the incident were Staff Sgt. Liam Nevins and Spc. Joshua Strickland.

Pentagon IDs 3 Special Forces soldiers killed in Afghanistan attack

Staff report

The Pentagon on Tuesday identified three soldiers killed in an apparent insider attack Sept. 21 at a base in Paktia province, Afghanistan.

According to a Department of Defense press release, the three soldiers died at Forward Operating Base Shank when “enemy forces” attacked their unit with small arms fire while the soldiers were conducting range training in Gardez.

Earlier reports said an Afghan wearing a security forces uniform turned his weapon against U.S. troops on Sept. 21 inside a base of the Afghan army in Gardez.

Killed were:

-- Staff Sgt. Liam J. Nevins, 32, of Denver, Colo., assigned to 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, Watkins, Colo. Nevins received a Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster (2nd Award) and Army Commendation Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters (3rd Award) among his numerous awards. Nevins is survived by his mother, his father, two sisters, and his fiance.

-- Staff Sgt. Timothy R. McGill, 30, of Ramsey, N.J., assigned to 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, Middletown, R.I. McGill deployed with the 3rd Marine Division in 2005 and joined the R.I. National Guard in 2008. His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. He is survived by his parents and two sisters.

-- Spc. Joshua J. Strickland, 23, of Woodstock, Ga., assigned to 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal. He is survived by his wife, his son and two daughters.

So-called insider attacks killed 62 personnel in 47 incidents last year compared with 35 killed in 21 attacks a year earlier, according to NATO.

So far in 2013, 11 foreign soldiers have been killed in seven such attacks, including Saturday’s, according to an Associated Press count.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

N.J. town honors soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

RAMSEY, N.J. — Residents in a northern New Jersey town paused to remember a soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Ramsey residents lined Main Street Monday as an antique fire truck carried Army Staff. Sgt. Timothy McGill's coffin home.

Bagpipes led the procession.

The 30-year-old Special Forces soldier was one of three troops shot on Sept. 21 by an Afghan wearing a security forces uniform in an attack near the Pakistan border.

The lifelong Ramsey resident was a member of the Ramsey Volunteer Fire Department and had worked for the town's public works department between deployments.

McGill initially served as a Marine after joining the military in August 2001. He joined the Rhode Island National Guard in 2008 and qualified as an elite Special Forces soldier in 2011.