Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken, 38, of Falmouth, Maine, was killed May 5 during a fight against al-Shabaab in Somalia, the first US troop to die in that country since 1993. US forces were conducting an advise and assist mission with members of the Somali National Army when they came under fire near Barii, about 40 miles west of Mogadishu. Milliken was assigned to an East Coast-based special warfare unit, according to a DOD release. “Al-Shabaab presents a threat to Americans and American interests,” US Africa Command said in a statement. “Al Shabaab’s affiliate, al-Qaeda has murdered Americans; radicalizes and recruits terrorists and fighters in the United States.” The US military has increased operations in Somalia recently, with a new White House authorization to increase precision fires in support of allied troops.
While the Pentagon is halfway through its review of the Air Force’s new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program in the wake of “critical” cost and schedule overruns, the service has declared a similar issue for the helicopters meant to provide security and transport across those ICBM fields. The Air Force recently…