Professional Soldiers ® - SSG Christian Longsworth

RELEASE NUMBER: 060522-02
DATE POSTED: MAY 22, 2006
PRESS RELEASE: Special Forces Soldier killed in Afghanistan
U.S. Army Special Operations Command

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, May 22, 2006) — An Army Special Forces Soldier died May 19 in the Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan when he was fatally struck by enemy small arms fire during a combat patrol.

Staff Sgt. Christian Longsworth, 26, a Special Forces weapons sergeant assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) here, was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

A native of Newark, N.J., Longsworth enlisted in the Army in 1998 as an infantryman and attended Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Ga.

His first assignment was with the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment at Fort Drum, N.Y., where he served for more than two years. In 2001, he transferred to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where he served for almost three years as a member of the cadre team for 6th Ranger Training Battalion before volunteering to become a Special Forces Soldier.

Longsworth graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in February 2006 and was assigned 3rd Bn., 7th SFG, as a Special Forces weapons sergeant. He deployed in March to Afghanistan.

His military education also includes the Warrior Leader Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, Basic Instructor Training Course, Ranger Course, Pathfinder Course, Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course, Special Forces Qualification Course, Basic and Advanced Airborne Courses, and Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course.

Longsworth’s awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Expert Infantryman Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab and Special Forces Tab. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge.

He is survived by his mother, Cecilia and daughter, Jaylin Araya of Newark, N.J. He is also survived by his brother, Roy Longsworth of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.

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Staff Sergeant Christian Longsworth, 26, a Special Forces weapons sergeant assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), died May 19 in the Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan when he was fatally struck by small arms fire during a combat patrol. (Courtesy photo)