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| Family, Football and Quiet Pride Defined Service Members Killed in Afghanistan | Family, Football and Quiet Pride Defined Service Members Killed in Afghanistan |
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| The six American service members who were killed on Monday by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan were part of a special Air Force team trained in counterterrorism, the military said on Tuesday. | The six American service members who were killed on Monday by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan were part of a special Air Force team trained in counterterrorism, the military said on Tuesday. |
| Four of them were part of the Office of Special Investigations — the Air Force version of the F.B.I., which is staffed by federal law enforcement agents trained in counterterrorism. The Department of Defense identified them as Maj. Adrianna M. Vorderbruggen, 36, of Plymouth, Minn.; Staff Sgt. Michael A. Cinco, 28, of Mercedes, Tex.; Staff Sgt. Peter W. Taub, 30, of Philadelphia; and Staff Sgt. Chester J. McBride, 30, of Statesboro, Ga. | Four of them were part of the Office of Special Investigations — the Air Force version of the F.B.I., which is staffed by federal law enforcement agents trained in counterterrorism. The Department of Defense identified them as Maj. Adrianna M. Vorderbruggen, 36, of Plymouth, Minn.; Staff Sgt. Michael A. Cinco, 28, of Mercedes, Tex.; Staff Sgt. Peter W. Taub, 30, of Philadelphia; and Staff Sgt. Chester J. McBride, 30, of Statesboro, Ga. |
| The two others killed in the attack were providing security for the team. The military identified them as Tech. Sgt. Joseph G. Lemm, 45, of the Bronx, N.Y., and Staff Sgt. Louis M. Bonacasa, 31, of Coram, N.Y., and said they were both assigned to the 105th Security Forces Squadron at Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh, N.Y. | The two others killed in the attack were providing security for the team. The military identified them as Tech. Sgt. Joseph G. Lemm, 45, of the Bronx, N.Y., and Staff Sgt. Louis M. Bonacasa, 31, of Coram, N.Y., and said they were both assigned to the 105th Security Forces Squadron at Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh, N.Y. |
| Two other service members were wounded, the Air Force said. | Two other service members were wounded, the Air Force said. |
| The attack, in a small village near Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, was the deadliest single attack on American forces in Afghanistan since 2013, and comes as the Taliban are increasingly wresting control of parts of the country from Afghan forces. | The attack, in a small village near Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, was the deadliest single attack on American forces in Afghanistan since 2013, and comes as the Taliban are increasingly wresting control of parts of the country from Afghan forces. |
| Though combat operations officially ended a year ago, about 9,800 United States troops remain in Afghanistan performing “advise and assist” missions. To protect the large bases where troops remain, patrols regularly sweep through neighboring villages to root out enemy rocket teams and other threats. | Though combat operations officially ended a year ago, about 9,800 United States troops remain in Afghanistan performing “advise and assist” missions. To protect the large bases where troops remain, patrols regularly sweep through neighboring villages to root out enemy rocket teams and other threats. |
| Family and friends remembered those killed in interviews and social media posts. | Family and friends remembered those killed in interviews and social media posts. |
| Major Vorderbruggen was one of the first openly gay Air Force officers to marry her partner while serving. She met her wife, Heather Lamb, before the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2011. Ms. Lamb later gave birth to the couple’s son, Jacob. But according to an essay by her mother-in-law, Anne Lamb, posted in 2013, Major Vorderbruggen had to hide the relationship and request leave to help a “friend” with her new baby. “Adrianna couldn’t share their good news, because if she had, her career could have been destroyed,” Ms. Lamb wrote. | Major Vorderbruggen was one of the first openly gay Air Force officers to marry her partner while serving. She met her wife, Heather Lamb, before the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2011. Ms. Lamb later gave birth to the couple’s son, Jacob. But according to an essay by her mother-in-law, Anne Lamb, posted in 2013, Major Vorderbruggen had to hide the relationship and request leave to help a “friend” with her new baby. “Adrianna couldn’t share their good news, because if she had, her career could have been destroyed,” Ms. Lamb wrote. |
| The couple married a year after the ban on gays was lifted, and told a reporter in 2012 that they had been delighted with how welcoming her unit had been to their family. | The couple married a year after the ban on gays was lifted, and told a reporter in 2012 that they had been delighted with how welcoming her unit had been to their family. |
| Ms. Lamb arrived on Tuesday night in Dover, Del., where her wife’s body is scheduled to arrive during a ceremony on Wednesday at the Air Force base there. | Ms. Lamb arrived on Tuesday night in Dover, Del., where her wife’s body is scheduled to arrive during a ceremony on Wednesday at the Air Force base there. |
| “Our son Jacob and I miss her so much,” she said in an email. “Our consolation is, we know she wanted to be there, she believed in and loved her work, and she was doing important work on behalf of the Afghans and our nation. She has always been my hero, never more so than now.” | “Our son Jacob and I miss her so much,” she said in an email. “Our consolation is, we know she wanted to be there, she believed in and loved her work, and she was doing important work on behalf of the Afghans and our nation. She has always been my hero, never more so than now.” |
| Ms. Lamb said her wife is also survived by her father, Joe, and three brothers: Dan, John and Chris. | Ms. Lamb said her wife is also survived by her father, Joe, and three brothers: Dan, John and Chris. |
| “It is important to us that she be remembered first as an Air Force officer, loving mother, wife, daughter and sister, above all else,” she said, “not primarily by her sexual orientation.” | “It is important to us that she be remembered first as an Air Force officer, loving mother, wife, daughter and sister, above all else,” she said, “not primarily by her sexual orientation.” |
| In a Facebook post, the Military Partners and Families Coalition, a group that advocates for gay service members, said, “We do find comfort in knowing that Heather and Jacob are no longer in the shadows and will be extended the rights and protections due any American military family as they move through this incredibly difficult period in their lives.” | In a Facebook post, the Military Partners and Families Coalition, a group that advocates for gay service members, said, “We do find comfort in knowing that Heather and Jacob are no longer in the shadows and will be extended the rights and protections due any American military family as they move through this incredibly difficult period in their lives.” |
| Sergeant McBride was a former defensive back on the Statesboro High School football team, and he helped the team to a state championship in 2001, his former defensive coach said, remembering him as a quiet player with superb talent. | Sergeant McBride was a former defensive back on the Statesboro High School football team, and he helped the team to a state championship in 2001, his former defensive coach said, remembering him as a quiet player with superb talent. |
| “His personality was very quiet,” said the coach, Steven Pennington, who is now the team’s head coach. “He was very conscientious of his play, and he possessed the talent of having great speed. And he was very disciplined with his assignments, which put him in a good position to make plays in ball games.” | “His personality was very quiet,” said the coach, Steven Pennington, who is now the team’s head coach. “He was very conscientious of his play, and he possessed the talent of having great speed. And he was very disciplined with his assignments, which put him in a good position to make plays in ball games.” |
| Sergeant McBride surprised his former coaches in the fall when he showed up unannounced at the school. Mr. Pennington recalled being impressed by how he had matured and asked him to give a talk to the football team. Sergeant McBride agreed, and returned the day he was leaving for Afghanistan to give the players lessons on taking opportunities when they come, making good choices, choosing friends wisely and respecting authority. | Sergeant McBride surprised his former coaches in the fall when he showed up unannounced at the school. Mr. Pennington recalled being impressed by how he had matured and asked him to give a talk to the football team. Sergeant McBride agreed, and returned the day he was leaving for Afghanistan to give the players lessons on taking opportunities when they come, making good choices, choosing friends wisely and respecting authority. |
| “All these things were something our players needed to hear,” Mr. Pennington said. “But it reinforced to us coaches that what we’re teaching them, he is living it.” | “All these things were something our players needed to hear,” Mr. Pennington said. “But it reinforced to us coaches that what we’re teaching them, he is living it.” |
| Jonathan Taub, the brother of Sergeant Taub, said that he never expected his sibling to enter the military, thinking instead that he would design video games or write fantasy novels. Mr. Taub called his brother “a protector.” | |
| “He’s always been the type that, if two people were fighting,” Jonathan said, “he would get in the middle and make them friends.” | |
| Sergeant Lemm was a 15-year veteran of the New York Police Department, where he had been a detective for the last two years on the Bronx Warrant Squad, a dangerous assignment that involved pursuing fugitives wanted in violent crimes. | Sergeant Lemm was a 15-year veteran of the New York Police Department, where he had been a detective for the last two years on the Bronx Warrant Squad, a dangerous assignment that involved pursuing fugitives wanted in violent crimes. |
| It was a world away from his youth, spent on his grandfather’s farm in a small Nebraska village. He was the third New York City police officer killed during military deployment overseas since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. | It was a world away from his youth, spent on his grandfather’s farm in a small Nebraska village. He was the third New York City police officer killed during military deployment overseas since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. |
| Many of the airmen already had combat deployments under their belts. Sergeant McBride had been to Iraq twice, according to friends’ Facebook posts. At Bagram, Sergeant Cinco had already walked “that same foot patrol a hundred times” in 2009 before he was killed in 2015, according to his Facebook friend Jayson Sterling. | Many of the airmen already had combat deployments under their belts. Sergeant McBride had been to Iraq twice, according to friends’ Facebook posts. At Bagram, Sergeant Cinco had already walked “that same foot patrol a hundred times” in 2009 before he was killed in 2015, according to his Facebook friend Jayson Sterling. |