John S.
January 26th, 2013 on 12:33 am

Brian Bill was a veteran SEAL with almost ten years of service in Special Operations, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had received combat awards from these deployments, including a Bronze Star with “V” device, indicating the award was for valor under fire.
Brian was one the senior leaders among 30 special operations and Spec Ops Aviation Regiment (SOAR) men killed aboard a CH-47 Chinook helicopter that was shot down in Wardak Province, Afghanistan on 6 August, 2011. This is the calamity memorialized in our 31 Heroes WOD, the 31st casualty having been a working dog on board the aircraft.
Brian was an Eagle Scout, and a hockey and soccer player through high school in Stamford, Connecticut. He enlisted in the Navy as a SEAL candidate after completing his Bachelor’s Degree at Norwich University. He had a reputation as a guy who over-achieved at everything he ever did, which explains how he became a Chief Petty Officer in the unit he was serving in when he was killed, which is a very special unit – shall we say the kind they make movies about.
The SEALs who died on that day were the best of the best, and the soldiers and airmen of SOAR were some of the best aviators and flight crew we have in the service. That was a great day for our enemy, and a truly dark day for us. The only bright side of this unhappy story was that for every commando and aviator who died that day, another noble warrior stepped into his place. And the enemy has had many dark days since.
RIP Brian.

The SEALs, Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen killed on 6 August 2011 were:
Lt. Cmdr. (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.,

Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.,

Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.,

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas,

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W.Va.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Mich.,

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.,

Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah,

Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.,

Cryptologist Technician (Collection) Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.,

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa,

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla., and

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah.

The following sailors assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit were killed:

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif., and

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, ofSaint Paul, Minn.

The soldiers killed were:

Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Aurora, Colo.;

Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.;

Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand Island, Neb.;

Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.; and

Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.

The airmen killed were:

Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla.;

Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif.; and

Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pa.

All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.

Koutney P
January 26th, 2013 on 9:23 am

John S — as always, thanks for posting more about today’s hero — and all of the other heros from that day.

Request from my fellow PCFers — does anyone have a recommendation for an HVAC repairman? My unit may be acting up (although it is hard to tell with these ridiculously cold temps) and I would like to get it checked. Email any recs to kpompi at gmail. thanks in advance!

ande
January 26th, 2013 on 10:33 am

Thanks John, and awesome squats this morning. Hilary…way to rock it….totally proud of you for sticking with the rope climbs! Awesome job!

Jon W
January 26th, 2013 on 10:57 am

13:57 rxd.

Thinking about Hero CPO Brian Bill kept me going through this WOD.

Mollie K
January 26th, 2013 on 12:32 pm

Great job today everyone! We coaches appreciate the flexibility with large classes and not enough ropes.
13:25 Rx’d

Ben W.
January 26th, 2013 on 1:51 pm

Thanks to everyone for their patience and flexibility with logistics. Great job all around, and have a great weekend!

Mickey M
January 26th, 2013 on 3:47 pm

About 12min, level 2. The upper inner thigh rope burns are pleasant.

Christy0530
January 26th, 2013 on 5:06 pm

Thank you John S and many thanks more to Brian Bill.

LI 8:21

Seems quick So prolly should have done something different. But just happy to have all the skin still on my palms.

Fink
January 26th, 2013 on 6:04 pm

15:03 with 155# BS and 5 rope climbs