Denver – A decorated special forces soldier from a south Denver suburb was killed while fighting in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said today.
Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Falkel, 22, of Highlands Ranch died Monday when his unit was attacked by small arms fire in Deh Afghan, according to a statement released by defense officials.
Falkel was a weapons sergeant assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, at Fort Brag, N.C. He was deployed to Afghanistan in June.
Falkel joined the Army in October 2001, began special forces training in 2002 and graduated a year later, the Army said. .
Falkel had been awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and other medals.
A phone message left for his parents was not immediately returned.
Falkel is the second serviceman from Colorado to be killed in Afghanistan in six weeks. Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz, 25, of Littleton was killed on June 28 during what the military described as a counterterrorism operation. He was a member of an elite Navy SEAL unit.
A purported al-Qaeda-made video shown this week by Al-Arabiya television shows what appears to be Dietz’s Department of Defense ID card.
It also shows other captured U.S. gear, including a laptop, an M-16, military radios and a global positioning satellite display.
The authenticity of the videotape could not be confirmed. Air Force Capt. Lennea Montandon, a spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command in Qatar, said the military would not comment because it had not seen the broadcast.
