Three Soldiers Hurt in Explosion

Three Fort Stewart soldiers are being treated for injuries from an explosion inside an armored vehicle on the southeast Georgia Army post. Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said Wednesday none of the injuries are life-threatening. One soldier was taken to the Augusta burn center with second-degree burns. The others were treated at Fort Stewart for minor burns and dehydration. Larson said the soldiers were driving an M-88 armored vehicle on a tank trail when they heard a hissing sound, followed by an explosion inside the crew compartment. The blast threw one of the soldiers out of the vehicle. The M-88 is an armored tow truck used to move tanks and other heavy vehicles. The Army is investigating what caused the blast. The soldiers'
identities were not immediately released.

(Associated Press)

Soldiers Home from War

Three hundred airmen at Moody Air Force Base are back on Georgia soil after serving a six-month deployment in Afghanistan. The airmen are assigned to the 75th Fighter Squadron and the 75th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. They returned Monday to major homecoming celebration at the military base in Valdosta. The Air Force says the unit's mission involved flying the new aircraft in combat missions over Afghanistan.

(Associated Press)

Dead Soldier Identified

Fort Stewart officials are releasing the identity of a soldier who was found dead in his barracks while assigned to the Georgia Army post's special unit for wounded and injured troops. The Army is still investigating the death of 27-year-old Spc. William M. Smith of Statenville. His body was found Friday morning. Smith was an ammunition handler in the Georgia National Guard's 1st Battalion, 214th Field Artillery based in Waynesboro. He had been assigned to Fort Stewart's Warrior Transition Unit since July. A planned autopsy has yet to determine the cause of Smith's death.

(Associated Press)

Georgia soldier dies

A Georgia solider has died in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense says 19-year-old Pvt. Coleman J. Meadows III of Senoia died Tuesday at a an American operating base. The government says Meadows died of injuries sustained during a noncombatant incident.

(Associated Press)

Soldiers return from Iraq

Soldiers assigned to a Fort Stewart-based unit are back home after serving a year in Iraq. 139 Members of the 416th Transportation Co. were honored by families and friends last night at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah. The 416th deployed in July 2007 to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Army said the unit was responsible for moving and transporting heavy equipment.

Vietnam remains could be missing brother

36 years after a soldier went missing during Vietnam, his sister in northwest Georgia may have some answers about what happened to him. The United States military recently called Christine Jones of Dalton to say scientists have likely identified the remains of Maj. Bobby M. Jones. His F4 jet disappeared in November of 1972 near Danang in South Vietnam. In June, a forensic anthropologist reportedly found a military identification marker linked to Jones.

Georgia soldier killed in Afghanistan

A soldier from metro-Atlanta was killed Sunday in combat in Afghanistan. Master Sargeant Mitchell W. Young of Jonesboro died when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. The 39 year old is survived by his wife and his mother. The military says Young was not among the nine American soldiers killed in an attack Sunday in Kunar province.

Georgia soldier from Watkinsville dies in Iraq

Another soldier from Georgia has died in Iraq. The Pentagon says 22-year-old Joshua Reeves of Watkinsville was killed over the weekend when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Baghdad. It was Reeves’ first deployment to Iraq. He entered the Army in February 2005, and was based at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Villa Rica soldier dies in Iraq

Another Georgia soldier has died in Iraq. The military says 21-year-old Sergeant Michael C. Hardegee of Villa Rica was among seven soldiers killed when their truck tumbled off an elevated highway pass in Baghdad.

Hardegee was the son and grandson of paratroopers. He graduated from Villa Rica High School in 2004, joined the Army and became a paratrooper himself. He served two tours of duty in Iraq.