Green Beret Killed in Afghanistan in Small Arms Fire
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer | Nov 17, 2014 | by Paul Woolverton
A Fort Bragg soldier was killed in action in Afghanistan on Friday, the Department of Defense announced late Saturday.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael A. Cathcart, 31, of Bay City, Michigan, died in Kunduz Province, which is in northern Afghanistan, of wounds received from small-arms fire while on dismounted combat operations, the department said.
The Green Beret was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne). This was Cathcart's fifth deployment with the battalion, known as the Bushmen, to Afghanistan.
The unit "lost one of our nation's finest," said Cathcart's battalion commander, Lt. Col. Michael Sullivan in an email. Cathcart "died a true warrior with his fellow teammates at his side," Sullivan said.
Cathcart's unit will remember him for his love of the hockey rink and for his contagious smile, Sullivan said.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Mike in the coming days, weeks, and months ahead," Sullivan wrote.
Cathcart enlisted in the Army in June 2001 as a Fire Support Specialist and served more than five years with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he served for more than five years. He had two combat tours to Iraq.
The Army said Cathcart volunteered for the Special Forces in 2007, and after his training he joined the 3rd Special Forces Group in 2009 as a senior engineer sergeant.
His many awards and decorations include three Bronze Star Medals, the Purple Heart Medal, four Army Commendation Medals and two Army Achievement Medals.
The Army has posthumously awarded Cathcart his fourth Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/11/17/green-beret-killed-in-afghanistan-in-small-arms-fire.html?comp=7000023468004&rank=1
