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By U.S. Army Sgt. Spencer Case
304th Public Affairs Detachment
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan— "He was a warrior. He was a little brother. He was a friend."
Army Sgt. 1st Class Steven L. Day, the operational law non-commissioned officer in charge for Combined Joint Task Force - 82, fondly remembers Army Cpl. Sascha Struble, who perished in a helicopter crash in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, five years ago while serving as a paralegal.
Struble was born in Germany. He grew up in Hanna, Ind., but lived for a time in New York. He graduated from Indian River High School, Philadelphia, N.Y., in 2002 and enlisted as a legal specialist a few months later.
Struble completed basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Jackson, S.C., before taking his first assignment as a legal specialist for 2nd Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment at Camp Casey, South Korea. After he graduated from Airborne School, Struble was assigned to 1st Bn., 508th Airborne Inf. Regt. at Vicenza, Italy.
Day, who supervised Struble when he served in the 1-508th AIR, said Struble was a youth of unusual depth and complexity. While other Soldiers his age would spend their weekend time enjoying Italy's ample nightlife, Struble would volunteer to baby sit.
"He was the kind of kid who could talk to you [in an educated way] about the differences in the Palestinian-Israel conflict, then turn around and build a fort with blocks with a four year old," Day said. "He was just that diverse."
Struble deployed to Afghanistan February 2004 where he served as a paralegal non-commissioned officer at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E. Day recalls visiting Struble at FOB Orgun-E a few weeks before the accident that took his life. Far from complaining about the austere conditions in which he was living, Struble was thriving and "proud as a peacock" of his plywood desk, Day said.
The last thing Struble showed Day on that visit was a wall with the pictures of fallen comrades, not knowing he would be on it less than a month later.
On April 6, 2005, Struble was among 18 troops and contractors killed when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter in which he was flying crashed during a heavy sandstorm. He was 20 years old. Struble was buried in the Hanna cemetery.
On April 24, 18 days after the fifth anniversary of Struble's death, the command of Combined Joint Task Force - 82 at Bagram Airfield honored Struble by naming the first military courtroom in Afghanistan after him. The courtroom will be used for court martial proceedings as long as there are U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Day said.
The project to build the courtroom began in 2007 and was pushed forward by three successive generals, Day said.
Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of CJTF-82, spoke at the dedication ceremony.
"We can – and have – conducted courts martial in tents, B-huts and conference rooms here at Bagram," Scaparrotti said. "However, the right place to do a court martial, given its importance to the Army, is in a courtroom such as this."
He added, "Naming this courtroom for Corporal Struble – a paratrooper who gave his life for his country while serving as a paralegal – is especially fitting. Corporal Struble was a true professional who exemplifies what it means to sacrifice all to bring justice to a combat zone."
Day agreed that the Struble Memorial Courtroom was a fitting way to remember Struble.
"Everyone in the JAG Corps will know this was named in honor of Corporal Struble," Day said. "I think it's fitting. It fits him and it fits his life."
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2010 08:26 |
| Story ID: | 48702 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 575 |
| Downloads: | 261 |
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