Credit: Colorado National Guard
Bristol Borough High School graduate and Colorado Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Liam Nevins is among the latest victims of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Nevins, 32, of the Colorado Army National Guard’s 5th Battalion 19th Special Forces Group, was killed on Saturday when a man in an Afghan National Army uniform opened fire on the soldiers while conducting range training in Gardez, Paktia Province, Afghanistan, according to the military and media reports.
The staff sergeant was killed along with two other American armed forces members.
Nevins, a 2000 graduate of Bristol Borough High School, was on his fourth combat deployment.
“We mourn not only for Staff Sgt. Liam Nevins, but for all these brave men and their families, whose grief is unimaginable. This loss will be felt throughout the ranks of the Colorado National Guard,” said Adjutant General of Colorado Maj. Gen. H. Michael Edwards.
Credit: U.S. Army
From the Colorado Army National Guard:
Nevins was born in Middlebury, Vt. and lived the first half of his life in Bennington, N.H. then moved to Pennsylvania with his mother and sisters. He attended Owen J Roberts in Pottstown, Pa. and graduated from Bristol Borough High School in Bristol Borough, Pa. in 2000. Prior to graduating from High School, Nevins enlisted in the United States Army under the Delayed Entry Program. It was always his dream to be an elite member of the brotherhood of Special Forces.
Upon entering Active Duty, Staff Sergeant Nevins was assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg, N.C. Shortly after being promoted to the rank of Sgt., he deployed with Alpha Company in 2003 as a rifle team leader to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Subsequently, he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant as a Sniper/Reconnaissance Team Leader in Headquarters Company, then as a Weapons Squad Leader in Charlie Company. He completed two more deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan in 2004 and 2005.
Shortly after leaving active duty service, Staff Sergeant Nevins attended Metropolitan State College of Denver from August 2006 to May 2009, where he studied for a Bachelor’s of Science with a focus on Business Finance. In May of 2009, he enlisted into the Colorado Army National Guard as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant. Staff Sgt. Nevins attended the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg, N.C. from January 2010 until his successful graduation in August of 2011. Then he was assigned to Operational Detachment Alpha in Bravo Company, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group in Fort Carson, Colo.
The New York Times reports that “a man dressed in an Afghan soldier’s uniform opened fire on foreign troops, killing three. Afghan National Army soldiers then shot the attacker to death.”
The Colorado National Guard said in a statement that Nevins was a “respected and admired member.” He recently received a Purple Heart for an injury sustained during his service.
A Denver Post story said Nevins was one month away from discharging from the military.
He is survived by his mother Victoria Nevins fiancée Julie Huynh, sisters Maeve Nevins and Raven Henin, brother-in-laws Karl Lavtar and Rafael Henin, nephews Lyric Nagy and Keegan Henin and Father William Nevins.
