Staff Sgt. Aaron Rhett Butler

"SSGT, US Army Special Forces Engineer Noncommissioned Officer (NCO), Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne)

He signed-up with the Utah National Guard prior to his high school graduation. He graduated with honors from the Army Green Beret Special Forces Qualification Course in January 2016. He was assigned to the 19th Special Force Group, Utah Army National Guard, based out of Camp Williams, Utah. He deployed to Afghanistan in April 2017 in support of Operation Resolute Support. He was killed by an IED while he was clearing a booby-trapped building in eastern Afghanistan. His military awards and decorations include the ARCOM; National Defense Service Medal; Non Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon; Special Forces Tab; Military Free-Fall Parachutist Badge; and Parachutist Badge. He was posthumously awarded Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

He graduated from Monticello High School in 2008, where he has been a four-time state wrestling champion. From 2009-2011, he served a mission in Ghana for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was survived by his mother; his father; six brothers; a sister; his fiancee; and other relatives, friends, and his Brothers-in-Arms."

• Source - https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=butler&GSima...

"Pentagon identifies Green Beret killed in Afghanistan By: Michelle Tan

The Defense Department on Thursday night released the name of the soldier who was killed this week in Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler, 27, died Wednesday in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, from wounds he suffered when an improvised explosive device exploded during combat operations.

The incident is under investigation.

Butler, of Monticello, Utah, was a Special Forces soldier assigned to the Utah National Guard’s B Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group.

Butler had been a member of the Utah Guard since 2008. He deployed to Afghanistan in April.

“Ultimately, what we do is very dangerous business,” said Maj. Gen. Jeff Burton, Utah’s adjutant general, in a statement. “Our hearts are broken when we lose one of our own. We know these people personally, they are our friends, we respect them and it’s very painful.”

The Green Berets from 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group who are deployed to Afghanistan were on a mission alongside Afghan forces to reduce the presence of ISIS-Khorasan fighters in the country.

ISIS-Khorasan is an offshoot of the Islamic State terror group.

On Wednesday, Butler was killed and 11 others were wounded while clearing a building. Initial reports indicate the building was wired with explosives, and the soldiers were struck upon entry, according to the Utah Guard.

Butler was a Special Forces engineer noncommissioned officer.

He joined the Army in April 2008, and after training was assigned to C Company, 1457th Engineer Battalion in Blanding, Utah, according to bio information released by the Guard.

In June 2015, Butler transferred to 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group. He arrived at the battalion’s B Company in June 2016.

He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

This brings the number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 11, the same number as were killed in all of 2016 in Afghanistan."

• Source - http://thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-staff-sgt-aaron-r-butler/65...