JEFFERSON, LA, USA
U.S. Army
SFC, CO D, 101ST FORWARD SUPPORT BN, 1ST BDE, FORT RILEY, KS
BALA MORGHAB, AFGHANISTAN 08/20/2008
Sergeant First Class David J. Todd Jr., age thirty-six of Marrero, Louisiana, died August 20, 2008 in Bala Morghab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked while on patrol by enemy forces using small arms fire. He was assigned to the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command-West, Herat, Afghanistan. It was his first Afghanistan deployment.
Sergeant First Class Todd was a former Army ROTC instructor at Tulane University who volunteered for duty in Afghanistan. A cavalry scout who joined the Army in 1991, SERGEANT FIRST CLASS Todd was assigned to the Orleans Battalion as an instructor at Tulane from 2003 until he volunteered to join a “military transition team,” a small unit trained to help Afghani and Iraqi troops assume control of their countries. Such teams embed with Afghan army units.
David Todd, a native of Texas, transferred to Fort Riley, Kan., in October to undergo the 60-day transition team training program. He shipped out to Afghanistan shortly after completing the program.
He was assigned to the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command-West, which trains and equips the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, according to the Defense Department. He was in Badghis province in northwestern Afghanistan when he was killed.
Before joining Tulane, Sergeant First Class Todd was assigned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Polk in west-central Louisiana, an Army spokesman said. Todd also had been stationed at Fort Knox, Ky.; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and Fort Hood, Texas, according to the Army.
Sergeant First Class Todd was a husband and father and provided training and care to many others in their quest for improvement and attainment of their personal best. He was a strong advocate for physical fitness and a fitness center is named in his honor. A runner, he was also honored by a run established to honor both him and all fallen heroes.
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