Green Beret stationed at JBLM killed in Afghanistan



WARDAK PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- A sergeant 1st class from Tennessee who was stationed at JBLM and on his fourth combat deployment was killed Tuesday in Afghanistan.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy W. Griffin, 40, from Greenbrier, Tennessee, was killed by small arms fire when his unit was engaged in combat operations in Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

“The loss of Sgt. 1st Class Griffin is felt across the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Family and the entire Special Forces community," said Col. Owen G. Ray, commander, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). "He was a warrior - an accomplished, respected and loved Special Forces Soldier that will never be forgotten. We ask that you keep his family and teammates in your thoughts and prayers.”

Griffin was born in Panama and enlisted in the Army in 2004. He served a tour of duty in Iraq in 2006 and Afghanistan in 2009. He served as a Special Forces communications sergeant at JBLM and deployed to Afghanistan again in 2016. He also served on an overseas rotation to Korea in 2018.

Griffin was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.