Afghanistan

A Missouri family is grieving the death of a fallen U.S. soldier. The Department of Defense says First Sergeant Billy Siercks of Velda Village died Wednesday in Landstuhl, Germany. Officials say Siercks suffered wounds the day before in Afghanistan during an attack by insurgents. He was 32-years-old.

Memorial services are set for an Ozarks soldier who died last week in Afghanistan. Visitation for Staff Sergeant Tyler Smith will be held Saturday, at noon, at the Licking Pentecostal Church. It will be followed by funeral services at two p.m. Smith graduated from Licking High School in 2006. He leaves behind a wife and two children at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

After nearly a year in Afghanistan, Fort Leonard Wood's 463rd Military Police Company returns home. The company acted as law enforcement for a base in Afghanistan. They dealt with traffic accidents, burglaries and thefts. Company officials say nobody was hurt but the company did have to deal with indirect fire. Fort Leonard Wood had the official welcome home ceremony Tuesday night. Families say it's a good feeling to have them home. “It's like having your other half back.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- As the military continues its troop drawdown, you may have a tougher time enlisting.  It's happening as we begin the transition out of "war time. "  In his State of the Union address, President Obama said we'll  cut our forces in Afghanistan by half by next year. Kason Newman is a machine; a pull-up, push-up, intense-enough-to-throw-up machine.  But the only thing that used to be mechanical about him was his line of thinking.  It was consumed by the military.

FT. LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - More than 150 soldiers are scheduled to leave from Fort Leonard Wood Tuesday. A deployment ceremony is scheduled for 11:00 Tuesday morning. The 232nd Engineer Company and 94th Engineer Battalion is set to be in Afghanistan for one year. This engineer company is scheduled to perform various deconstruction engineer operations in Afghanistan.

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Ozarks soldier serving in Afghanistan is in elite company. U.S. Military officials presented Lieutenant Colonel Jay Gann of Springfield, Mo. with a Purple Heart for injuries he suffered during a rocket attack in eastern Afghanistan. The attack happened September 12, 2012. Lieutenant Gann says he's no one special, just one of many who have served.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo -- Travel safe, make us proud, then get home! That's the message families and friends conveyed to 19 Missouri National Guard soldiers as they left today for deployment overseas. The 19 soldiers make up the 169th Aviation Regiment and specialize in emergency medical evacuations. They'll spend up to a year in Afghanistan. Many of these soldiers told us this mission is their first deployment overseas. Family members who came to say goodbye said they did so with more pride than fear.

CABOT, Ar. -- A central Arkansas soldier has died from injuries suffered when he was hit by enemy small arms fire, the Department of Defense said. Sgt. Jason M. Swindle, 24, of Cabot, Arkansas died September 20 in Panjwa'l, Afghanistan. Sgt. Swindle was assigned to 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia. He joined the army in 2005 and four deployments. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

After nearly a year in Afghanistan, Fort Leonard Wood's 463rd Military Police Company returns home. The company acted as law enforcement for a base in Afghanistan. They dealt with traffic accidents, burglaries and thefts. Company officials say nobody was hurt but the company did have to deal with indirect fire. Fort Leonard Wood had the official welcome home ceremony Tuesday night. Families say it's a good feeling to have them home. “It's like having your other half back.

A Lockwood man accused of beating an Afghanistan war veteran to death last summer is no longer facing a murder charge. The charge filed against Anthony Cheek was reduced to voluntary manslaughter just ahead of his scheduled trial date. Cheek is accused of killing 30-year-old Chad Clayton in July of last year. He wasn't charged until January, when police say he admitted to hitting Clayton ten times in the head during a fight. Investigators say Cheek told them the veteran came to his house to buy marijuana but he wouldn't sell to him because he thought Clayton was a police informant.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - An Engineer Battalion will be leaving Fort Leonard Wood for Afghanistan this week. A deployment ceremony is scheduled for 3 Wednesday afternoon at the base in Fort Leonard Wood. The 94th Engineer Battalion will be supporting a NATO mission in Afghanistan, as they train people there.

They're back home Wednesday night, every single one of them.  142 soldiers with an engineer company have returned from their year in Afghanistan.  We followed them from their arrival at the old Springfield-Branson National airport to their reunion with family and friends at Fort Leonard Wood.   The men and women were tasked with road clearance in Afghanistan.  They found more than 100 roadside bombs, and more than 20 actually exploded.  Fortunately injuries were minor, but the troops came home with nine purple hearts.  Still, it's what they came home to that means the most.

LICKING, Mo. - Family and friends of an Ozarks soldier killed in Afghanistan said their final goodbyes Saturday. 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Tyler Smith of Licking died April 3rd. Flags are flying at half-staff across the Show-Me-State this weekend in his honor. He is survived by his wife Lara and children, Wyatt and Carson, all of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Smith's funeral was held at the Licking Pentecostal Church. Smith was buried with full military honors. In leiu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Tyler J. Smith Memorial Fund at Fisher House.