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Subscribe to RSSA U.S .Navy SEAL is being praised as a fallen hero after he died during the rescue of an American doctor kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan. NBC's Atia Abawi reports.
Updated at 12:01 p.m. ET: The Pentagon on Monday identified the U.S. Navy SEAL who was killed in the rescue of an American doctor in Afghanistan as a highly-decorated 10-year veteran from Pennsylvania.
U.S. Navy
Navy Seal Nicolas D. Checque
Twenty-eight-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, of Monroeville, died Sunday of combat-related injuries sustained while supporting operations in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said in a release.
Checque was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare command, the statement said. Checque had been awarded the Bronze Star, among many other commendations, the release said.
The rescue operation was launched when coalition forces reported that Dr. Dilip Joseph was in imminent danger.
Joseph, who worked with the non-profit Morning Star Development of Colorado Springs, was kidnapped Wednesday along with two Afghan staff members -- one is part of the medical team, the other part of the support team. Joseph has been the non-profit’s medical adviser for three years.
Morning Star said the team of three had been returning from a visit to one of its rural medical clinics when the kidnappers stopped their vehicle. The three were then taken to a mountainous area about 50 miles from the Pakistan border, Morning Star said.
Related: Kidnapped American rescued from Taliban, coalition says
Contact between the hostages, their captors and the non-profit's crisis management team started immediately, according to a statement on Morning Star's website. On Saturday evening, two of the hostages were released. The two men then made their way out of the area and were taken to a police station.
At least six people were reported killed in the operation to rescue Joseph, the third hostage. It is unclear whether that number includes the American soldier. Morning Star said the two staff members were released earlier.
In a statement Sunday evening, President Barack Obama said: “Yesterday, our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day.”
Two Taliban leaders were reportedly taken into custody.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued a statement Sunday evening commending the U.S. Special Operations that carried out the raid. He said he was deeply saddened by the SEAL’s death.
“I also want to extend my condolences to his family, teammates and friends,” Panetta said
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More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.
Jim Miklaszewski is the chief Pentagon correspondent for NBC News.
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If I am not making sense what are you doing?
Final score: 6 to 1.
We win.
Thanks for listening to my rants!
what happen to the terrorists in Iraq ?
Left or right poor or rich. Without each other niether can survive,
Economics are a funny thing , without anyone giving nobody is recieving.
quit sending our people off to die!
Good night to all bros and sisses.
Promise?
Not to take away from the bravery of these guys, but if one were to only watch the media, you would think that only Navy Seals were fighting this war. For a group that doesn't seek notoriety, I have to say they are in the news a lot. Guess it is more romantic then hearing about some grunt getting killed these days.
I know the seals are good at what they do, and many are primadonna too. I also served in spec ops, but we sure didn't get this kind of attention, in fact the only thing we got was denigration form the civilians.
Maybe I'm a little bitter since now everyone that volunteers for a service job is a hero. In my day, most hero's were killed in the line of duty like this guy was.
I guess I get tired too, of hearing the wife of some sergeant in typewriter repair tell me she deserves respect and glory for keeping me free.
Let's not forget all those less glorified soldiers and marines who are on the ground 24/7, not just the seals who fly in and out and back with there families or out of harms way writing books of thier heroics or getting paid to make video games, and get all the press.
And I want to thank him for giving his all, and tell the family that it must be harder then anything most of us can imagine losing a son, but most people would look back on thier death bed and only wish they could have died like he did and live forever as a REAL hero.
The only easy day was yesterday! Thank you sir.
Those civilians should not be allowed in this theater of war,they should be on their own.
That being said,my prayers,sympathy and condolences for the fallen,his family and his fellow SEALs.
Thanks to our military training programs. Lacking strong force training. Ok you don't know what forced training is. It is that the trainee is "Forced" to train, they go through sleep deprivation, as well as pushed on physical exercises. Now adays you have the recruit that can tell the drill instructor "hey I can't do that" an the instructor has nothing to do other than back off. This is why the majority of the "fighters" can't do their jobs because they were not pushed in trainings.... Thanks to the fimbots in the government that say its too difficult for the recruit to, say wake up at 0 dark thirty. So the recruit wakes up at 7 am. That is crap.
The Seal was doing what he was trained to do,but the good Dr. owes this man and the other Seal members a debt of gratitude that he can never fulfill. The Dr. has his life the Seal doesn't. You can not say enough about a man who is willing to give his life to save that of another. God bless our military and especially those who go into harms way.
American doctor who was kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan should still be kidnapped......! He knew what the danger were when he electd to endanger American lives when he entered Afghanistan. It is a shame that an American Hero had to give his life for a moron who was careless with his own life. I hope this Doctor lives the rest of his life with the name of the fallen SEAL on his lips for the rest of his life.
My condolences to the family of the fallen SEAL and his Team. May he rest in peace and his team be held in God's hands.
One has to wonder why we do nothing to rescue the doctor who led us to Bin Laden? Even though not an American he is a national hero and a friend of the United States.God bless the Seals and all our brave men and women in harms way!
Fallen but never forgotten ! God bless the Seals !
I wonder how long it will take Senator McCain to also blame this one on Secretary Rice?
No one blamed Rice for the Bengazi attacks.....only about Lying about what happened....I guess being a LIAR is equivalent to being a good leader these days in the eyes of the liberals.
Oh please, spare me. Most people in this country don't even know of this incident much less will remember this seals name two months from now. People today are too preoccupied with the "me" syndrome and could care less. Sad society we've become!!!
Should have been the top headline NBC!
May God bless all those who serve.
Why doesn't somebody ask the Good Doctor what he would've done if the Good US Military had already left Afghan.
They have no problem getting some doctor that really had no business being in a war zone, yet they still can't find Sgt Bowe Bergdahl? No man left behind? Why have we forgotten about our only POW Sgt. Bergdahl? Bring back Bergdahl for God sake!
My very sincere condolences to the family and shipmates of the fallen SEAL. You were lost but will never be forgotten.
No greater gift hath one man than to lay down his life for another. God bless this SEALl and his family, and thanks be to God for the safe return of the doctor, whose charity was so poorly repaid.
JS in SD.
You are EXACTLY right. Furthermore, whichever U.S. individual/s approved of civilians traveling into a war zone should be locked up. The good doctor should have a significant amount of his earnings garnished in order to pay support to the SEAL's family.
This Government used one of this country's most valued military assets to rescue a civilian while it let an Ambassador and three other Americans die while a US Consulate was under attack for over 6 hours and did nothing? Just does not seem right to this armchair/keyboard warrior.
bush killed 5000 americans in Iraq and 2000 in afghanistan based on lies and you did nothing,now your bitching about 3 people? Get a life pal.
You're making assumptions about the available intelligence coming out of Libya. Did you whine like this when 4,000 soldiers were killed in Iraq in a war that was started because then President Bush lied?
Not to take any thing away from the Navy Seals , but how is it they will send in Seal Team 6 to save this Doctor but they would'nt send them in to save 4 people in Libya ? . Another Hero lost , R.I.P. Salior.