First American KIA in Battle of Mosul CPT (r) Tyler Merritt October 29, 2016 Veteran Inspired 428 At Nine Line News, our focus is always toward the things that make this amazing country so great. We are relentlessly patriotic. And we are this way because of men and women like Chief Petty Officer Jason Finan. What Happened In the push toward Mosul, there has been some intense fighting already. In one particular firefight, when Chief Finan was assisting Kurdish Peshmerga forces, he was killed by an improvised explosive device(IED), according to Military Times. While advancing toward the enemy under fire, Chief Finan’s vehicle was moving to a better position when it struck the IED. A medevac helicopter was dispatched and aid was rendered. He was taken to a medical facility near Irbil and later died of wounds sustained in the explosion. Chief Finan is the fourth American combat death in Iraq following the drawdown of US forces in the country. According to military officials, there are over 100 service members embedded with the forces that are advancing on Mosul at the battalion and brigade levels. The fighting is expected to intensify as the allied coalition moves closer to the city center in Mosul. An Explosive Ordinance Demolitions expert, Chief Finan was assigned to Mobile Unit Three in Coronado. Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve released a statement saying, “This barbaric ideology must be defeated and I thank God every day that we have warriors like Chief Finan who are willing to take up that fight.” It Never Gets Easier The Global War on Terror has taken its toll on American forces, but there has been a fortunate lull in the past few years with the death toll dropping to a trickle. But that doesn’t make it any better. It’s a stark reminder that life is precious and that our military service members really do put their lives on the line all the time. As mentioned before, this is what makes it so important to us at Nine Line News that we remain a solid center for supporting our active military and veterans alike. It is through the sacrifice of brave men like Chief Finan that we are able to enjoy and appreciate the freedoms that most Americans are simply born into. The close-knit fraternity of EOD specialists know just how dangerous their job is. They go in where few others dare to tread — when there’s a potential explosive threat that’s holding up a mission, stopping a convoy or anything in between. These professionals have really demonstrated their importance in Iraq and Afghanistan as they have saved untold thousands from horrific outcomes. And that’s not just our military, but our allies’ forces and local national civilian populations as well. We cannot understate how grateful we are for the sacrifice of such people. Until Valhalla, Chief Finan.
