The Army on Wednesday identified the soldier killed in a Tuesday improvised explosive device blast in Afghanistan as SSgt. Matthew V. Thompson, 28, of Irvine, Calif. Thompson was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces group (Airborne) at JB Lewis-McChord, Wash. He was killed and another soldier injured when an IED hit their patrol near Lashkar Gar, NATO announced. Six more Afghan soldiers were injured in the blast. This was Thompson’s first deployment to Afghanistan; he had previously deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the Army announced. Thompson was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart.
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.
