Deployments: Wright and Jeremiah Johnson were shot multiple times at close range by the militants, killing them.[50]. Jeremiah Johnson, American soldier killed in the Tongo Tongo ambush. The investigators learned that Wright jumped back into the vehicle and slowly began driving south while Staff Sgts. First Class Jeremiah Johnson posthumously received the Bronze Star with Valor. Two Army Green Berets, Staff Sgt. [138], On 4 October 2019, the United States offered a $5 million bounty on Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi under the Rewards for Justice program. [19] After completion of the meeting, the soldiers walked back to the rest of the unit and their unarmored pickup trucks. It was during this time that the rear Nigerien vehicle departed the area by an unknown route. The Hall of Valor includes citations related to actions during the Global War on Terror. La David Johnson and Staff Sgt. Search by Name . [17][26][28] The expectations were that construction of the base would be completed in 2018, which would allow the US to conduct surveillance operations with the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper to monitor ISIL insurgents flowing south and other extremists flowing north from the Sahel region. The mission plan was assessed and approved by the AOB Niger and SOCCE commanders and on 3 October at 5:59 am (local time), the team of 11 personnel consisting of eight US Special Forces operators, two support, and an intelligence contractor accompanying 35 Nigerien personnel from the Security and Intelligence Battalion (Bataillon Scurit et de Renseignement or BSR) and the 433rd Special Interdiction unit, departed toward the vicinity of Tiloa in an eight vehicle convoy. The four are, from left, Staff Sgt. [98] On the same day, Senator Lindsey Graham said that the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee will be briefed next week. [109], On 18 October, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, who was also present during the conference call, confirmed Wilson's account saying "Yes, [Wilson's] statement is true", and "I was in the car and I heard the full conversation". They sent final messages to loved ones on personal devices and prepared for the worst, team members would observe Nigerien soldiers on the ground praying. Bryan Black and Sgt. The families of four soldiers killed in an October 2017 ambush in Tongo Tongo, Niger, have started receiving posthumous medals on the soldiers' behalves. "Approximately 85 meters from the vehicle, enemy small-arms fire hit [Jeremiah Johnson], severely wounding him," the summary said. The Mauritanian Nouakchott News Agency reported Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 that Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi with the self-professed IS affiliate claimed responsibility for the Oct. 4 ambush about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Niger's capital, Niamey. He was from Springboro, Ohio. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson, was one of four U.S. special operations soldiers killed in Niger on October 4, 2017, when Islamist fighters ambushed their team. At 11:40 a.m., as the patrol was about the length of a football field outside Tongo Tongo, they began taking small-arms fire from a treeline to their east. In a statement attributed to Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the group said, "We declare our responsibility for the attack on the US commandos last October in the Tongo Tongo region of Niger". [64][66] He would later be assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group as a support element. Jeremiah Johnsons own Silver Star medal will be presented to his parents in the coming weeks. The four fallen troops "gave their last full measure of devotion to our country and died with honor while actively engaging the enemy," the summary said. Special Forces Tab Dustin Wright died Wednesday. La . Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff & Eric Schmitt, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Defense Department briefing with Pentagon spokesperson Dana White and Joint Staff Director Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, 12 October 2017, Statements by US Secretary of Defense James Mattis regarding the 4 Oct. incident in Niger, 19 October 2017, Defense Department briefing with Dana White and Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, 19 October 2017, Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara, "An Operation in Niger Went Fatally Awry. The parents of U.S. Army Sgt. [67], Johnson's family enrolled him in 5000 Role Models, a mentorship program of US Representative Frederica Wilson that prepared African American children for college, vocational school, or the military. Sgt. The four team members who split from the second position would regroup with the remainder of the team and partner force. [139][140] He was killed by French forces in a mid-2021 raid and a 45 minute video of the 2017 incident was recovered.[141]. Combat Action Badge. ", "APNewsBreak: US soldier fought to end after ambush in Niger", "ISIS Affiliate Claims October Attack on U.S. After the meeting, Mattis told reporters, "We can do better at communication". [18] Among the US soldiers, four were killed: Staff Sergeant Bryan Black, Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, Sergeant La David Johnson, and Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright. In addition to the summary, the Pentagon released an abbreviated version of an animated video prepared by AFRICOM depicting the firefight. Djibouti: April 2016 September 2016 La David Johnson sprayed the treeline with fire from an M240 machine gun. Troops in Niger", "Niger Ambush Came After 'Massive Intelligence Failure,' Source Says", "Pentagon Sends Team to Niger to Find Out What Happened", "Death of U.S. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, La David . [114], On 18 December, Jones-Johnson accused the Department of Defense of lying to her family about how her son was killed. Army Commendation Medal "What it shows, Meek said, is Jeremiah . [33], On 2 October 2017, a US special forces (SOF) team from 3rd Special Forces Group based in Quallam received intelligence that placed a high value ISGS sub-commander in their area of responsibility. [36], In a video recorded before the ambush, young men can be seen on motorbikes armed with rifles and machine guns, repeating Islamist slogans, and discussing what they would do in the event they captured soldiers, with one of them saying that they would decapitate them. The remains were retrieved from the spot near the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger, where Johnson and three other American soldiers were ambushed and killed on Oct. 4 by ISIS-linked militants. Adjutant Chef Bagu Soumana and Soldier 2nd Class Abdoul Rachid Yarima were posthumously awarded, while four surviving soldiers received their awards in an October 2019 ceremony in Niamey. Army Commendation Medal (two awards) 5 min read. Meritorious Service Medal The Tongo Tongo ambush was a 4 October 2017 attack on Nigerien and American soldiers in Tongo Tongo, Niger, by armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). Silver Star medal Niger ambush Tongo Tongo ambush Army medals to Niger ambush soldiers killed in Niger U.S. Africa Command October 2017 Niger Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson, who was killed in action in the 2017 attack and decorated with the Bronze Star Medal with "V" for Valor, praised the French but said the U . Staff Sgt. [36], The eight vehicle convoy left the village at 11:35a.m. on their planned route back to base. Find 16087 people named Jeremiah Johnson along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. Bagu Soumana was an adjudant-chef (Chief warrant officer) of the BSR. [4][32] However, the declaration was not recognized by the group's leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, and the al-Qaeda loyalists, creating a split in the group. [63], Black enlisted in the US Army in October 2009 and eventually became a Special Forces medical sergeant (18D), he was subsequently assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd SFG in June 2015 and deployed to Afghanistan for two months in July. [28] On 19 October, Kelly, whose son was killed in the War in Afghanistan in 2010, defended Trump's call with the widow of La David Johnson. The new video was quietly recovered during a French operation to kill the leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara this summer. [13] Bryan Black, 35, and an Army support enabler, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Sgt. [124], On 12 January 2018, the ISGS claimed responsibility for the attack after a long delay. National Defense Service Medal National Defense Service Medal On Oct. 4, 2017, a unit of the U.S. Army's 3rd Special Forces Group, known as Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 3212, was ambushed by affiliates of the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS) in Tongo Tongo, Niger, resulting in the deaths of four U.S. soldiers Staff Sgt. The Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush occurred on 4 October 2017, when armed militants from the Islamic State in the . ISIS release helmet camera footage of soldiers Byan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, Dustin Wright and La David Johnson being killed in Niger. La David Terrence Johnson was an African American Army Sergeant, vehicle mechanic, and father who was killed in the Tongo Tongo Ambush on October 4, 2017 in the West African nation of Niger, alongside three other American soldiers, Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Dustin Wright. The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide a lethal Joint Force to defend the security of our country and sustain American influence abroad. Upon realizing Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Wright were missing, Two team members volunteered to head back to the ambush site in an attempt to locate vehicle three. Jeremiah Wayne Johnson. He was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The top U.S. military officer, Army Gen. Mark Milley, has delivered a message to Ukrainian soldiers at a new training program Two of three NATO surveillance planes deployed temporarily to Romania have arrived at an air base near Bucharest. "The enemy did not capture Sgt. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant First Class and received the Bronze Star Medal with Valor. Four U.S. soldiers died and it took him 12 days to respond", "Islamic State's Sahara branch claims first attack in Burkina Faso", "Sub-Saharan Africa's Tree "New" Islamic State Affiliates", "Belmokhtar's militants 'merge' with Mali's Mujao", "Confusion surrounds West African jihadists' loyalty to Islamic State", "At least 46 attacks in area of Niger where U.S. troops killed: U.N.", "Niger: Nigerien and US soldiers killed on the Mali border", "US intelligence officials examining video of Nigerien militant group", "Tongo-Tongo and the death of American soldiers", "US soldiers killed in Niger were outgunned, 'left behind' in hunt for ISIS leader", "New details on deadly ambush in Niger that left 4 soldiers dead", "American troops caught in deadly Niger ambush told to proceed despite mission concern", "Senator McCain says subpoena may be required to get answers on", "Oct 2017 Niger Ambush Summary of Investigation", "US special forces 'fought Niger ambush alone after local troops fled', "Hours before death in Niger, U.S. soldiers were targeting militants in Mali", "Troops Ambushed in Niger Waited an Hour to Call for Help, Pentagon Official Says", "Caught in a deadly ambush, US troops in Niger waited an hour for French air power to arrive", "U.S. Operational Detachment Alpha Team 3212, also known as "Team Ouallam" for their base in Niger, had just left the village of Tongo Tongo near the Mali border on the morning of Oct. 4 in a convoy of seven unarmored pickups. Combat Infantryman Badge Wright immediately backed up the SUV to bring him into cover. Air Assault Badge Dustin Wright died Wednesday. [117], On 20 October, National Review senior writer David French criticized the comparison between the ambush and the 2012 Benghazi attack and said, "All available evidence suggests that this is a tragedy rather than a scandal". Army Good Conduct Medal Username. . Waldhauser said "there will be awards for valor" for actions during the ambush. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. 1st Class Jeremiah W. Johnson (right) became honorary Green Berets.