Navy ID’s Casualty and List Sailor as Whereabouts Unknown

July 27, 2010 · By Jerry Castillo

2nd Class Justin McNeley

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor and the identity of another sailor listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN). The announcement resulted from a July 23 incident in Logar province, Afghanistan, while the sailors were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley, 30, of Wheatridge, Colo., died from wounds sustained from the July 23 incident. Coalition Forces recovered his body July 25 after an extensive search. He was assigned to Assault Craft Unit One (ACU-1), San Diego.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, 25, of Renton, Wash., is listed as DUSTWUN from the July 23 incident. Search and recovery efforts are ongoing, and the incident is under investigation.

Specialist 2nd Class Jarod Newlove

ENCINITAS – One of two U.S. sailors missing in Afghanistan is the son of an Encinitas deputy fire marshal.

Deputy Fire Marshal George McNeley sent an e-mail to city workers and fire officials today saying his son, Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley, was killed in action, Encinitas Mayor Dan Dalager told the San Diego Union- Tribune.

The Taliban has claimed they killed a U.S. sailor and kidnapped another on Friday. A massive manhunt has been underway since the sailors went missing.

“People are just pretty much in shock,” Dalager said. “I know our firefighters are already working on some things to help the family.”

George McNeley has worked for the Encinitas Fire Department for five years, Dalager said.

Justin McNeley, was stationed in San Diego before his deployment, but served with a different unit in Afghanistan.

McNeley is believed to have driven into Taliban territory Friday along with Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale.

The two Navy personnel were in the eastern province of Logar, after an armored sport utility vehicle was seen driving into a Taliban-held area. NATO officials were unable to say what they were doing in such a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan.

The Taliban have said previously that they killed one of the two men in a firefight and captured the other.

Jim Kerr, a Colorado legislator, said the sailor killed was his wife’s nephew, Justin McNeley, 30. He said the family learned of his death Monday. He said McNeley’s mother is in Kingman, Arizona, but declined to give her name.

Kerr told The Denver Post that McNeley, a noncommissioned officer and father of two sons, was due to return to the U.S. in August.

The Taliban have said the captured sailor is in a “safe place” where he will not be found.

In a statement, the NATO-led command said the body was recovered Sunday after an extensive search and that the coalition “holds the captors accountable for the safety and proper treatment of our missing service member.”

Hundreds of fliers, with reprinted photos of the two sailors, have been distributed throughout Logar province where NATO troops were stopping vehicles, searching them and those inside. NATO has offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the surviving sailor’s location.

In another incident, a soldier from San Diego was among those killed Saturday by a roadside bomb attack on their vehicle in Afghanistan.

They are identified as 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Conrad A. Mora of San Diego, Calif.; 23-year-old Sgt. Daniel Lim of Cypress, Calif.; 27-year-old Spc. Joseph A. Bauer, 27, of Cincinnati, Ohio; and 25-year-old Pfc. Andrew L. Hand of Enterprise, Ala.

The four were assigned to 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigade at the Army base near Tacoma, Wash.

The Pentagon also released the names Monday of two high-ranking Camp Pendleton-based Marines killed in combat last week in Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio, and Maj. James M. Weis, 37, of Toms River, N.J., were killed Thursday in Helmand Province, according to the Department of Defense.

They were members of Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the servicemen’s deaths “tragic losses for this country.”

“They devoted themselves to serving our nation with honor and integrity, and their selfless sacrifices will never be forgotten,” the governor said.

Resource: sandiego6.com