Navy Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Jarod Newlove

Died July 28, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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25, of Renton, Wash.; assigned to Commander, Navy Reserve Force Command, Norfolk, Va.; died in Logar province, Afghanistan, when he was captured and believed to have been killed by the Taliban. Coalition forces recovered his body July 28 after an extensive search. Also kidnapped and believed to have been killed by the Taliban was Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Justin McNeley.

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Body of 2nd sailor recovered in Afghanistan

By Amir Shah and Deb Riechmann

The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — A second sailor who went missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan was found dead and his body recovered, a senior U.S. military official and Afghan officials said July 29.

The family of Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Jarod Newlove, a 25-year-old from the Seattle area, had been notified of his death, the U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

Newlove and Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Justin McNeley went missing July 23 in Logar province. NATO recovered the body of McNeley — a 30-year-old father of two from Wheatridge, Colo. — in the area Sunday.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in Kabul that two days ago the Taliban left the “body of a dead American soldier for the U.S. forces” to recover. The Taliban said McNeley was killed in a firefight and insurgents had captured Newlove. Mujahid offered no explanation for Newlove’s death.

NATO officials have not offered an explanation as to why the two service members were in such a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan.

The sailors were individual augmentees at a counterinsurgency school for Afghan security forces, according to senior military officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. The school was headquartered in Kabul and had classrooms outside the capital, but they were never assigned anywhere near where McNeley’s body was recovered, officials said.

The chief of police of Logar province, Gen. Mustafa Mosseini, said coalition troops removed Newlove’s body about 5:30 p.m. July 28.

Newlove was shot once in the head and twice in the torso, according to Logar provincial spokesman Din Mohammad Darwesh. He speculated Newlove may have been wounded in a shootout with the Taliban and died because there was no medical care available in the rugged mountain area.

Mosseini said he thought the body washed downstream after rains July 27.

He noted in the past several days, the Taliban were being pressured by coalition forces in the area.

“The security was being tightened,” Mosseini said. “Searches continued from both air and the ground. Militants were moving into Pakistan.”

Mohammad Rahim Amin, the local government chief in Baraki Barak district, also said coalition forces recovered a body about 5:30 p.m. and flew it by helicopter to a coalition base in Logar province, about 40 miles away.

“The coalition told our criminal police director of the district that the body belonged to the foreign soldier they were looking for,” Amin said.

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Candlelight vigil held in sailor’s memory

The Associated Press

SEATTLE — Family and friends of a sailor killed in Afghanistan after vanishing in a hostile area have organized a candlelight vigil at his old high school in Seattle.

The Aug. 3 vigil is planned for Chief Sealth High School, from where Petty Officer 2nd Class Jarod Newlove graduated in 2003.

Afghan officials said last week that Newlove’s body was recovered from a river. The Navy confirmed his death.

Newlove and Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley were driving through a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan when they became involved in a firefight July 23. McNeley also was killed.

At first, the Taliban said they had taken Newlove and a massive search was launched. Days later his death was confirmed.

The Navy is investigating what two junior enlisted men in noncombat jobs were doing driving alone nearly 60 miles from their base in a dangerous area controlled by the Taliban.

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Flags at half-staff for slain sailor

The Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered flags at all Washington state buildings to be flown at half-staff Aug. 5 in memory of Navy Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Jarod Newlove of Renton, who was killed in Afghanistan.

Newlove, 25, and Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Justin McNeley, 30, went missing July 23 while driving alone nearly 60 miles from their base in territory controlled by the Taliban. Their bodies were recovered several days later.

A candlelight vigil was held Aug. 3 for Newlove at Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle, where he was remembered for playing sports.