Two Soldiers Stationed at Fort Sill Killed in Afghanistan

This Memorial Day Weekend keep two of Lawton’s finest soldiers in your prayers as they lost their lives in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan in the line of duty!

Thirty-year-old Tobias C. Alexander, of Lawton, Oklahoma, and twenty-eight-year-old Jesse Ozbat, from Prince George, Virginia were stationed at Fort Sill but were attached to different units. Ozbat was assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Battery, 214^th Fires Brigade, and Alexander was with the 1^st Battalion, 14^th Field Artillery, 214^th Fires Brigade.

Alexander and Ozbat were assigned to Security Force Advisory Teams, responsible for training and mentoring Afghanistan's National Security Forces. These teams are essential to creating adequate Afghan military and police forces and for transitioning the responsibility of the country’s security to Afghanistan's government.

The Department of Defense announced on Monday that the two servicemen suffered fatal wounds when their unit was attacked with an improvised explosive device (IED).

The attack occurred on Sunday, May 20, in Tarin Kowt, a southern Afghanistan town that was of significant value to the Taliban in 2001.

Tarin Kowt is an isolated town whose only ground access to the outside is a road to Kandahar, which is often subject to Taliban attacks.

Captain Ozban and 2^nd Lieutenant Alexander were serving as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, so let’s all remember the many courageous men and women who have given their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today.