Black Rifle Coffee Company CEO refused to give up

Veteran founder of multimillion-dollar company: 'This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life'

FOX
By Matt London
May 26, 2020

The founder and CEO of Black Rifle Coffee Company, Evan Hafer, said he would rather return to combat than face rebuilding his business again from scratch.

"This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and I'm a former Green Beret [who] spent seven years in combat zones," Hafer told veteran correspondent Lara Logan on her Fox Nation show "No Agenda with Lara Logan."

In Season 3 of "No Agenda," Logan investigates the current state of affairs of America's veterans through the eyes of those who served — from veteran entrepreneurs to those carrying out humanitarian missions, to wounded warriors on the front lines of the veteran suicide crisis.

Hafer started Black Rifle Coffee in his Salt Lake City garage five years ago. Prior to that, he spent about 300 days a year, for a decade, deployed to some of the most remote and hostile regions of the world, with both the U.S. special forces and the CIA.

Today, Black Rifle Coffee is one of the most successful veteran-owned businesses in America, though Hafer said the company nearly never made it.

"I remember I was in my garage sitting on a box and, you know, I'm like looking around and I have nothing else. And I was like starting to cry," said Hafer, recalling how he sold nearly everything he owned to keep his business afloat.

"For years, I told myself all these things, you know, like you're a special forces guy, you're CIA, you know, 1 percent of 1 percent. Why can't I make this work?" he told Logan, explaining that he reached a turning point.
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Veteran Green Beret with PTSD passed out instead of pulling trigger...now shares something so much better

Smith didn't pull the trigger because he was so drunk and passed out

Green Beret who put a gun in his mouth while surrounded by booze at his lowest point reveals cannabis helped his crippling PTSD - and now he's selling CBD to help struggling veterans who turn to opioids
Daily Mail
By WILLS ROBINSON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
18 April 2020

Adam Smith spent 17 years as a Green Beret in the US Army and special forces fighting terrorists and drug cartels in the most dangerous places on earth. But it was in a small cab in Lexington, Kentucky, where he came closest to dying - surrounded by empty bottles of booze, a suicide note and with a pistol in his mouth

Adam Smith spent 17 years as a Green Beret in the US Army and special forces
Brushes with death were common during his daring operations
But it was in a small cab in Lexington, Kentucky, where he came closest to dying
He was surrounded by booze, a suicide note and with a pistol in his mouth
Smith didn't pull the trigger because he was so drunk and passed out
Instead of using alcohol to self-medicate, he turned to cannabis and CBD
He's now launched a CBD line, Tactical Relief, for veterans and first responders
Says it helps with symptoms of PTSD and is a better alternative to the powerful opioids some struggling veterans are prescribed More than 20 veterans and active duty soldiers commit suicide a day in the US

The day after his suicide attempt he arranged to get a beer with a Navy special warfare friend who offered him a chance to train law enforcement in Ohio.

He joined a tactical training company, joined a CrossFit gym and saw his life turn around.

Then he found a solution to ease his trauma in a place he hadn’t thought possible - a cannabis dispensary in Washington state.

He was on a cross-country cycling trip with a friend who had issues with panic attacks and they stopped in.

‘I bought a little, and that night I smoked for the first time. You want to talk about eye opening? I slept better, had less anxiety, felt more at ease, didn’t have any nightmares and seemed to have an extra tick in my anger clock.’
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James Craig “Doc” Glynn, Stolen Valor spoke at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery

Combating Stolen Valor: Why this disservice to veterans remains an ongoing problem

Florida Today
By John McCarthy
March 4, 2020

In a 2014 FLORIDA TODAY story about Port St. John veteran Melvin Morris being awarded the Medal of Honor, Glynn was quoted as having been with Morris in Vietnam on the mission that earned him the medal. Glynn’s military records show he was in basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky at the time.

In Florida, it is a felony to falsely claim military service while soliciting for charitable contributions or for the purpose of material gain.

During a ceremony at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery last March honoring Vietnam veterans, a Vietnam veteran with an impressive military record delivered the invocation.

James Craig “Doc” Glynn was introduced as a retired Green Beret medic and Army master sergeant who served in Vietnam and later in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The audience was told Glynn was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, 10 Bronze Stars and nine Purple Hearts, among other military commendations.

Glynn did serve in Vietnam as a medic, but the rest is not true. His military service ended in 1972, and the years since have included prison time for fraud and forgery.

Military veterans have a term for lying about military service as Glynn has done: Stolen Valor.
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7th Special Forces mourn loss of two Green Berets

Army Posthumously Promotes Two Green Berets Killed in Afghanistan

Military.com
By Hope Hodge Seck
22 Aug 2019

Both men belonged to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

Two Special Forces soldiers killed Wednesday in Afghanistan during combat operations have been posthumously promoted, officials announced Thursday.

Master Sgts. Luis F. Deleon-Figueroa, 31, and Jose J. Gonzalez, 35, died in Faryab province, Afghanistan, at the country's northern border with Turkmenistan, according to a release from U.S. Special Operations Command. They died of wounded sustained from small arms fire due to combat operations, according to a Pentagon release. The incident is under investigation.
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Fort Carson 10th Special Forces Group Lost Hero

Decorated special forces soldier dies in combat in Afghanistan

NBC News
By Tim Stelloh
July 14, 2019

Sgt. Maj. James Sartor "was a beloved warrior who epitomized the quiet professional," a military official said.

A Special Forces company sergeant was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan, military officials said Sunday.

Sgt. Maj. James Sartor, 40, died Saturday in the country’s northern Faryab Province, U.S. Army Special Operations spokesman Lt. Col. Loren Bymer said in a statement.

Additional details about Sartor’s death were not immediately available.

Sartor, of Teague, Texas, was assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group in Fort Carson, Colorado, Bymer said. He deployed to Iraq as an infantryman in 2002 and later as a Green Beret. Sartor had served in Afghanistan twice — once in 2017 and again this year.

Sartor, who went by "Ryan," joined the Army in June, 2001, and was given more than 20 awards and decorations during his military career. He will posthumously receive a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, Bymer said.
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Green Beret from Utah died in Afghanistan

Utah soldier dies in Afghanistan

Deseret News Utah
Jasen Lee
Published: July 1, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY — A decorated soldier from Ogden has died while serving in the Middle East.

Sgt. 1st Class Elliott Robbins, 31, died Sunday in a noncombat incident in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, while serving in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, according to a Pentagon report. The incident is under investigation.

A Green Beret, Robbins was assigned to D Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Airborne Group in Fort Carson, Colorado.

His parents said he was deployed in January — his third tour in the Middle East — and was set to return to Utah any day. Robbins leaves behind a wife and an infant son.

His father, Freeman Robbins, was a career Army man himself and said some of that military dedication may have rubbed off on his son. He said his son was proud of his country and proud to serve it.

"What can a parent say? I mean, they're proud that their child does well in what he does," Freeman Robbins said. "He was an Army medic and saved a lot of lives. How can you not be proud of something like that?"

Freeman Robbins says his son served with valor, earning multiple awards. He admitted that at times it was difficult to read about why he Sgt. Robbins received the awards — knowing he was put into some very dangerous situations.
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Retired Green Beret received Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in Afghanistan

Green Beret received valor award upgrade for 2005 firefight

Military Times
By: Kyle Rempfer
June 21, 2019

Retired Master Sgt. Larry Hawks was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on June 21 for his actions in Afghanistan back in 2005.

The ceremony took place at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School auditorium on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to an Army news release.

Hawks received the DSC — the second highest military decoration awarded to a U.S. soldier — for gallantry under fire as a member of 3rd Special Forces Group on July 24 and July 25, 2005, in Afghanistan.

“Sgt. 1st Class Hawks, while conducting armed reconnaissance of a town, came under intense enemy small arms, rocket propelled grenade, and mortar fire," the citation reads, according to the Army release. “While moving to interdict enemy combatants attempting to reposition themselves on the high ground west of the village, he discovered one of his comrades was pinned down by enemy fire.”

"Sgt. 1st Class Hawks, without regard for his own safety dismounted from his vehicle and charged toward the enemy position on the high ground. Under continuous fire, he engaged and neutralized the enemy position.”

His actions led to 15 confirmed enemy killed in action, the capture of 14 insurgents, and the recovery of over 30 light and heavy weapons, according to his older Silver Star citation.
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Fort Bragg Stolen Valor within CID?

Agent involved in Army officer's murder case charged with lying about earning a Purple Heart

The Washington Post
By DAN LAMOTHE
Published: February 14, 2019

The charges, if proved, amount to what U.S. troops refer to as “stolen valor,” when service members claim details about their military service that are not true in ways that benefit them. Delacruz has been suspended from his duties since the allegations came to light late last year, Castro said.

A special agent with U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command faces criminal charges after allegedly lying about his military service, Army officials said Thursday, complicating a case he was assigned in which a former Green Beret officer has been charged with murder.

Matthew L. Golsteyn, a former Special Forces officer who is being investigated for alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan, in his Washington office with his wife, Julie, and their 4-month-old son Henry. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Delacruz, who is assigned to the Army CID office at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was charged with the unauthorized wear of a Purple Heart, Air Assault Badge, Pathfinder Badge and Combat Action Badge and is accused of submitting a package to an Army promotion board that stated he earned a Purple Heart when he did not, said Jeffrey Castro, an Army spokesman. The Purple Heart is awarded to U.S. service members who have been wounded or killed in combat.

The charges, if proven, amount to what U.S. troops refer to as "stolen valor," when service members claim details about their military service that are not true in ways that benefit them. Delacruz has been suspended from his duties since the allegations came to light in late 2018, Castro said.

The accusations, first reported by NBC News on Thursday, complicate the case of Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, who is accused of premeditated murder in connection with the death of a man in Afghanistan in 2010. Golsteyn, 38, was charged in December following an on-and-off investigation that dates back to 2011, when the former Green Beret officer acknowledged killing an unarmed man that he believed to be a Taliban bomb maker during a job interview with the CIA.
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Green Beret was shot twice but kept fighting

Green Beret killed 6 insurgents and saved his men despite being shot twice and hit with a grenade
Military Times
By: J.D. Simkins
1 day ago

A 12-man team from the Colorado-based 10th Special Forces Group was advising Iraqi National Police on Sept. 10, 2007, during a mission to capture a high value target from the Islamic State of Iraq in the area of Samarra, Iraq.

(Left to right) Halbisengibbs, Lindsay, Chaney. (Army)

Two helicopters were originally scheduled to deliver the men at 2 a.m. to a field on the outskirts of the village, but when the pilots saw the planned landing zone covered in water, they had to set the assault teams down closer to the target.

The noisy arrival alerted the bodyguards of Abu Obaeideah, the area’s kingpin who had been wanted for a year for killing Iraqis — and their families — who considered joining the police force.

Over the course of a hellish 10 minutes, the three-man assault team killed Abu Obaeideah and 11 of his crew and helped free a hostage.

“Pretty much the three of them single-handedly secured that objective,” Maj. Will Beaurpere, the men’s commander, told Stars and Stripes.

All three would recover from their injuries.

For his actions, Jarion Halbisengibbs received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second highest award for valor.

Capt. Matthew Chaney and Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lindsay were presented with Silver Stars.
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Jared Bullock not letting what he lacks define what he gives

‘Tough as nails’ veteran urges focus on fitness, not wounds
STARS AND STRIPES
By ROSE L. THAYER
Published: August 11, 2018

Reeves said Bullock’s focus as a business owner is incredible — just as it was during his early days of recovery.“When he got injured, he said, ‘This does not define me.’ He hasn’t let it define him,” Reeves said.

Jared Bullock, a former Green Beret, and his wife Jesica stand outside Foundry Athletics, a gym they opened May 19, 2018, in Carterville, Ill. PHOTO BY TIM KOLCZAK

AUSTIN, Texas — Everything changed for Sgt. 1st Class Jared Bullock on Nov. 13, 2013.

It was one month into his fifth deployment, and the Green Beret and a team of soldiers were riding in an all-terrain vehicle in Kandahar when it ran over an improvised explosive device. Bullock woke up in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where he learned he’d lost his right arm above the elbow and his right leg above the knee.

The explosion also took the life Bullock’s best friend, Staff Sgt. Richard L. Vazquez, 28, and Staff Sgt. Alex A. Viola, 29, died days later in the hospital.

His injuries left him wondering what was next for him, after 10 years in the Army doing a job that he loved.
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Veteran From Green Beret to Inspirational Bodybuilder

This Veteran Lost 2 Limbs in Afghanistan. Now He's an Award-Winning Bodybuilder
Men's Health
Stacey Leasca
November 11, 2017

“I had a couple of bad days being in the hospital because I'd worked so hard to get into Special Forces, and that’s what I wanted to do, and that was ripped away from me.” Jared Bullock

Photograph courtesy of ​Jared Bullock

While Bullock’s fitness has always been a key part of his life, he now has a new, more focused approach. That’s thanks in part to the help of Home Depot and the Gary Sinise Foundation, which built a home gym for Bullock and packed it with equipment he can use and adapt for his new body.

Jared Bullock isn’t the kind of guy you’d want to compete against in, well, anything. The rugged-looking redhead from Illinois will beat you without question at every event, every time, because he simply doesn’t understand the concept of failure.

Bullock, who joined the military after 9/11, served two tours in Iraq before beginning training for Special Forces. On Oct. 13, 2013, he received a Green Beret and was deployed to Afghanistan on an A-team.

Now, Bullock’s sharing what he’s learned. Each year he works with amputee children at a summer camp, showing them techniques they can use to stay healthy and to ensure they don’t gain asymmetrical strength, which can hurt them in the long run.
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Man Accused Of Impersonating Wounded Veteran...Again

‘He’s Despicable’: Man Accused Of Impersonating Wounded Veteran
CBS Boston
David Robichaud
October 5, 2017

“This guy wants uniforms so much, we gave him one. An orange uniform.” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd

AYER (CBS) – “He’s despicable.” That’s what the Ayer police chief called 27-year-old Kyle Barwan.

Police say Barwan is a con artist who travels the country convincing women he is a disabled veteran, then steals money from them.

“He referenced himself as a disabled vet,” said Ayer Police Chief William Murray. “What he does is he gets into these women’s houses, homes, he takes all their money, and then he moves on.”
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Fourth Fort Bragg Green Beret Found After Niger Ambush

Fourth US Soldier Was Killed in Niger Ambush

FOX News
Lucas Tomlinson
October 6, 2017

Nigerien forces have discovered the body of a fourth U.S. soldier killed in an ambush earlier this week, U.S. officials told Fox News Friday.

The unidentified soldier had initially been reported missing after Wednesday's attack. Authorities feared the soldier was being held hostage by a militant group, but officials told Fox there were no signs the soldier had been kidnapped or tortured.

The other three fallen Green Berets were identified earlier Friday as decorated soldiers based out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

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Staff Sgt Rob Pirelli Remembered in Song for His LIfe

Hear 'Voice' Singer Barrett Baber's Emotional Tribute to Fallen Soldier
Rolling Stone
By Stephen L. Betts
18 hours ago

Inspired by Pirelli's actions, Baber wrote the song, saying, "When I heard the story of Staff Sgt Rob Pirelli, and how, through the outpost he built to protect his fellow soldiers, his legacy remained long after his ultimate sacrifice, I was moved at the depth of this very personal, human story. I'm proud to have been able to tell his story in song."

Barrett Baber, whose full-throated, Southern rock-tinged vocals took him to a third-place finish on Season Nine of NBC's The Voice in 2015, has released "Still Stands," a powerful song from his album A Room Full of Fighters. Penned by Baber with Kenny Lamb, the tune recounts the brave, inspiring story of U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Ryan Pirelli, who was killed in action in Iraq in August 2007, but not before leaving behind a combat outpost that would one day bear his name and inspire a documentary film.

A native of Franklin, Massachusetts, Pirelli volunteered for military service in 2003 as a Special Forces (Green Beret) recruit in the Army. Deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2007, he used his engineering skill to establish an outpost in the dangerous Diyala province. The outpost Pirelli built protected American soldiers from harm during his deployment and continued to protect American troops for several years after he was killed. Remembered by his fellow soldiers not only for his ingenuity, bravery and a thick Boston accent, Pirelli, a hockey enthusiast, also spent time teaching local Iraqi children how to play baseball. After he was killed, the combat outpost was renamed Combat Outpost Pirelli in his honor and a symbol to remember him - a sword, lightning bolts and fire – became part of what his fellow soldiers called "The House That Rob Built."
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Fort Bragg Solider's Body Returns Home

HEARTBREAKING VIDEO CAPTURES FALLEN SOLDIER'S HOMECOMING
ABC 13 News
February 16, 2017

RALEIGH, N.C. (KTRK) -- They are the sniffles heard around the world.

When Lisa Williams' plane arrived at Raleigh-Durham Airport, passengers were asked to wait to let someone off the plane first.

When she looked out the window, there were several soldiers unloading a flag-draped coffin from the cargo hold. For minutes, the plane remained silent, aside from the sniffles coming from the passengers.

A woman walked over and placed her hand on the casket to say her final goodbyes, and others -- presumably family members -- joined her.

Then, seven Green Beret soldiers dressed in full uniform carried the casket off the plane and loaded it into a black hearse, paying their respects as they marched away.

Eventually, a pilot came on the intercom to thank the passengers for waiting.
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Army: Green Beret dies in non-combat accident in Niger
Army Times
By: Meghann Myers
February 9, 2017

A Special Forces warrant officer has died from injuries he suffered in a vehicle accident while serving in Africa, a U.S. Army Special Operations Command spokesman confirmed to Army Times on Thursday.

Warrant Officer 1 Shawn Thomas, of 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, died Feb. 2, Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt confirmed. His death was first reported by U.S. Army W.T.F.! Moments.

"Our deepest condolences go out to Warrant Officer Thomas' family, friends and colleagues," 3rd Special Forces Group officials said in a statement.

Officials couldn't specify the type of vehicle or any other details of the accident because of the ongoing investigation, said Sgt. 1st Class Victor Aguirre, a USASOC spokesman.
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Tech. Sgt. Steven Bellino PTSD and "Other Factors"

Air Force: PTSD, Other Factors Led Airman to Kill Commander
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN ANTONIO
Jan 16, 2017

U.S. Air Force investigators have determined that post-traumatic stress disorder and the unraveling of a distinguished military career led an airman to fatally shoot his commander last year at a San Antonio base before killing himself, according to Air Force documents.

The April shooting at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland prompted a lockdown and officials to abruptly end a nearby military training parade with thousands of spectators.

Investigators determined Tech. Sgt. Steven Bellino confronted Lt. Col. William Schroeder before the two struggled and Schroeder was shot multiple times. Both men were veterans of U.S. Special Operations Command.

Air Force documents given to the San Antonio Express-News ( http://bit.ly/2jC5obt ) by Bellino's family show he participated in an elite pararescue program with Schroeder but did not complete it.
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A Long Career in Military’s Elite Spirals Into a Killing and a Suicide
The New York Times
By DAVE PHILIPPS
APRIL 15, 2016

Military and law enforcement personnel after a shooting last week at Joint Base San Antonio in which, the authorities say, a sergeant fatally shot his commander, then killed himself. Credit Darren Abate/Reuters

Investigators believe Bellino, 41, resented the outcome following a remarkable military career that included repeated tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and time as an Army Ranger and Green Beret. He also had served as an FBI agent and was a CIA contractor before enlisting in the Air Force and attempting to join the elite unit.


After two decades in the Army Special Forces, several deployments overseas and a stint in the F.B.I., Steven Bellino switched to the Air Force to become an elite pararescue lifesaver trained to jump from planes and save aircrews behind enemy lines. The motto of the rescuers is, “That others may live.”

But last week, just a few months into training, Sergeant Bellino, facing court-martial for being absent without leave, walked into his squadron’s headquarters at Joint Base San Antonio, in Texas, with two pistols and gunned down his commander, Lt. Col. William Schroeder, according to a Department of Defense spokeswoman, who said the sergeant then killed himself.
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Veteran Finds Out He's Not The Father, VA Wants Money Back?

Very poorly written report. First there is a difference between "Retirement Pay" that is from the Department of Defense. Then there is Disability Compensation that is from the VA and is rated by degree of a Service Connected Disability. There is a VA Pension with these requirements

In addition to meeting minimum service requirements, the Veteran must be:

• Age 65 or older, OR

• Totally and permanently disabled, OR

• A patient in a nursing home receiving skilled nursing care, OR

• Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance, OR

• Receiving Supplemental Security Income

There are different rates of compensation for a single veteran as well as a veteran with a spouse and/or child.  So is this about the VA paid for the child that turned out to not be his and they want the money back?

Either way, this veteran is stuck with a huge headache topped off with a reporter that did not do basic research on the subject that was important enough to write about.

Army veteran says VA taking his money to pay child support for a boy who is not his BY TRIBUNE MEDIA WIRE POSTED 2:38 PM, JANUARY 4, 2017

AURORA, Colo. -- An Army veteran in Colorado says the Department of Veterans Affairs is wrongly garnishing his retirement pay.Elmo Jones, a retired Green Beret, served our country for more than two decades. But he's going up against a behemoth bureaucracy to stop child support payments for a boy who is not his.The VA is taking a big chunk of his retirement pay each month to pay support for the now-5-year-old boy.It's something a Colorado court already ruled the ex-wife is not entitled to receive."This is America? Really?" Jones said.The 57-year-old served in the U.S. Army for 21 years, including combat in the Persian Gulf War. But he's finding the toughest mission of his life is on home soil.read more here

Did General Mattis Leave Green Berets to Die in Afghanistan?

Trump's Defense Pick Accused of Delaying Aid to Wounded Soldiers
NBC News
by KEN DILANIAN
DEC 2 2016

A former Army Special Forces officer is accusing retired Marine General James Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be defense secretary, of "leaving my men to die" after they were hit by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2001.

Mattis has not commented publicly on the incident, which was chronicled in a 2011 New York Times bestselling book, "The Only Thing Worth Dying For," by Eric Blehm. The book portrays Mattis as stubbornly unwilling to help the Green Berets.

His actions, which were not formally investigated at the time, are now likely to get far more scrutiny during the retired general's Senate confirmation process.

Trump's transition team did not respond to request for comment from NBC News. Nor did Mattis, whose 2013 retirement from the military means he would need a waiver from Congress to serve as the civilian Pentagon chief.

Mattis is a highly decorated former wartime commander who became famous for leading the 1st Marine Division's lightning fast movement into Baghdad during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
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Richard Reisz "Green Beret" Stolen Valor

14 News Investigation: Stolen Valor?
KXXV News
Posted by Jess Powers, Reporter
November 18th 2016

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE)
For six months, 14 News has been investigating a claim of stolen valor involving an Evansville business owner.

That's after several people contacted us, asking us to look into the matter.

Investigative reporter Jess Powers spent months acquiring documents and sifting through the information to get answers for you.

All of those documents are public records. Documents that help tell a tale, some may not want you to hear.

Veterans earn the right to wear the uniform. They have the right to display their earned patriotism.

When people falsify military claims or embellish their records, it's taken very seriously.

14 News received an email on May 20th titled "Stolen Valor".

The email claimed an Evansville business owner was portraying himself as a military veteran, but did not serve in the military.

The claims surround Richard Reisz, a man who previously identified himself to 14 News as the owner of the former Ground Zero Fitness.
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Green Beret Soldier's Death in Kenya Under Investigation

Fort Bragg-based Green Beret dies while serving in Kenya
Army Times
By: Meghann Myers
October 28, 2016

A memorial service for a 3rd Special Forces Group soldier is set for Saturday in Fayetteville, North Carolina, 11 days after his mysterious death while deployed to Kenya, according to his obituary.

Sgt. 1st Class Zachary Bannister, 33, was found dead of non-combat related injuries on Oct. 17, Maj. Christopher Foreman, a spokesman for 3rd Special Forces Group, told Army Times on Friday.

Bannister's remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, on Thursday. The cause of his death is under investigation, Foreman said.

The Reynoldsburg, Ohio, native spent four years as a Marine from 2003 to 2007, then re-enlisted into Special Forces in 2010, according to a 3rd Special Forces Group release.

He did two deployment to Afghanistan, the release said, earning three Bronze Star Medals -- one with the combat "V" device -- and various other awards.
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