Military deaths

Defense Department identification of U.S. military personnel killed in Afghanistan:

Joseph J. Altmann, 27, of Marshfield, Wis.; staff sergeant, Army. Altmann was killed Dec. 25 when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Stacy O. Johnson, 35, of Rolling Fork, Miss.; petty officer, Navy. Johnson died July 18 in a noncombat-related accident in Bahrain, where he was serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was a master-at-arms assigned to Naval Security Force Bahrain.

Kurt W. Kern, 24, of McAllen, Texas; specialist, Army. Kern was among three soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device Tuesday in southeast Afghanistan’s Paktia province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Noah M. Korte, 29, of Lake Elsinore; sergeant, Army. Korte was among three soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device Tuesday in southeast Afghanistan’s Paktia province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Justin M. Whitmire, 20, of Easley, S.C.; private first class, Army. Whitmire was among three soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device Tuesday in southeast Afghanistan’s Paktia province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Sources: Department of Defense, Associated Press