Feral Jundi

Rest in peace to James and the rest of the Americans killed in this tragic incident in Kabul. This has been a bad couple of weeks for MPRI and with the loss of Paul Almryde and James, these deaths tragically mark the beginning of the spring fighting season.

I would also like to remind the reader that the sacrifice of contractors in Afghanistan has been steep.  Here are the latest figures from wikipedia, which also draws from the DoL.

The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed that by March 31, 2011, a total of 763 civilian contractors were killed in Afghanistan. Of which, during the period between June 2009 and April 2010, 260 were private security contractors or PMCs.

If you look up in the Contractor Casualty Statistics box here on the blog, I try to keep everything close to current. But obviously these latest deaths have added to this unfortunate list in Afghanistan. To all friends and family members of fallen contractors, the sacrifices of these heroes will not be forgotten. My heart also goes out to the military men and women who have also given the ultimate sacrifice and last pound of flesh in this war. Semper fi. –Matt

James McLaughlin

James McLaughlin of Santa Rosa dead in Afghan war
Henry K. Lee
Friday, April 29, 2011
Civilian contractor James McLaughlin of Santa Rosa was killed with eight troops.
Sandy McLaughlin of Santa Rosa used Skype twice a day to talk to her husband while the retired Army veteran worked as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan. Seeing his wife over the video phone was the highlight of his day.
On Tuesday night, James McLaughlin Jr., 55, gave his wife his usual send-off: “OK, I gotta go. I love you. Bye-bye.”
Hours later, James McLaughlin was dead, one of nine Americans shot and killed at a military compound near the Kabul airport by a veteran Afghan military pilot.
“He was very happy serving his country,” Sandy McLaughlin said of her husband of 28 years. “It’s a shame that his life had to end so young, doing something he loved. Never in a million years did he expect not to come home.”
James McLaughlin, who was qualified to fly helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, spent 32 years in the Army before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2007. Since 2008, he had trained Afghan helicopter pilots as an employee of L-3 MPRI, a private contracting company in Virginia.
“He was the ultimate professional,” said Rick Kiernan, a senior vice president for communications at the firm. “He was a good man who was working as a mentor to help others. He was a natural teacher. He was such a good and giving man. We really miss him as a colleague and wonderful individual.”
McLaughlin and eight members of the U.S. Air Force died Wednesday when the Afghan pilot opened fire during a meeting in which he targeted trainers, authorities said. NATO forces shot and killed the gunman.
According to the Associated Press, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting. But an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman said the pilot had “opened fire on foreigners after an argument,” the Associated Press said.
McLaughlin last visited his home in Santa Rosa several weeks ago. He intended to return to the North Bay and teach high school science and math after his contract with the Virginia company ended in the fall, his widow said.
McLaughlin was an amateur radio enthusiast and had call signs in both the United States and Afghanistan.
“He loved his ham radio and loved his family,” Sandy McLaughlin said.
Besides his wife, he leaves two sons – Adam McLaughlin, 31, and James McLaughlin, 25 – and a daughter, Eve McLaughlin-Sutliff, 30, all of Santa Rosa.
He is the second civilian contractor from Santa Rosa to die overseas. In 2004, Christian Frederick Kilpatrick, 25, an Army Ranger-turned-contractor, was killed in an ambush in northern Iraq.
Story here.