An Army Ranger wounded in northwest Afghanistan on Sunday has died.
Sgt. Cameron Meddock, 26, died Thursday in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained from small-arms fire Jan. 13 in Badghis Province, Afghanistan.
This was his second deployment in support of NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
Meddock was an Army Ranger serving with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
“Sergeant Cameron Meddock is one of America’s precious sons. The entire nation should strive to emulate the warrior, patriot and husband that Cameron was," Col. Brandon Tegtmeier, commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment, said in a statement. “The 75th Ranger Regiment will forever honor Sergeant Cameron Meddock, and his family will forever be a member of our Ranger family.”
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A native of Spearman, Texas, Meddock enlisted in the Army on Nov. 14, 2014.
He completed one-station unit training as an infantryman, the Basic Airborne Course and Ranger Assessment and Selection at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Following successful completion of RASP, Meddock was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, where he served as a machine gunner, automatic rifleman, gun team leader and, most recently, as a fire team leader.
Meddock’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the Joint Service Commendation for Combat, the Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, the Ranger Tab, the Parachutist Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Badghis Province, where Meddock was wounded, has been one of the more stable regions in northwest Afghanistan, according to Khaama Press, the largest news agency in Afghanistan.
In recent years, however, anti-government groups like the Islamic State-Khurasan — ISIS' Afghan-based offshoot — have developed a foothold in some of Badghis' remote districts.
At least ten ISIS-K militants were killed during an operation in northeastern Badghis, Khaama Press reported Jan. 13.
Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.
