Two soldiers who grew up in Southern California were killed in Afghanistan over the weekend in separate incidents, according to the Department of Defense.
Army Spc. Daniel L. Carlson, 21, of Running Springs, died Nov. 9, in Kandahar province. The Army is investigating his death, the cause of which was not released by the Pentagon.
The Press-Enterprise reports Carlson was on his first deployment when he died. He was a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter Repairer with the 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii.
Lt. Col. Derrick Cheng, spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, said in a statement:
“Our sincere condolences go out to Daniel's family and friends, and we share in mourning their loss. This is a tremendous tragedy, and they remain in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.”
Carlson leaves behind his wife and parents, according to the Press-Enterprise.
Army Staff Sgt. Kenneth W. Bennett, 26, of Glendora, was killed by an improvised explosive device November 10 in Sperwan Gar.
Bennett was a explosives ordinance technician, trained to disable explosives, assigned to the 53rd Ordnance Company (EOD), 3rd Ordnance Battalion (EOD) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
Bennett was on his third deployment to Afghanistan when he was killed, according to the Bellingham Herald.
The Herald reports Bennett joined the Army in 2004. Two years later, he trained to become an explosive ordnance technician.
