Kabul Compound Renamed in Honor of Fallen Soldier

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

03.21.2005

Courtesy Story

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By Sgt. 1st Class Darren D. Heusel105th Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentUSAR: KABUL, Afghanistan " He may be gone, but U.S. Army Capt. Daniel W. Eggers is not forgotten.Senior military officials here made sure of that Sunday when they renamed the Kabul Compound "Camp Eggers" in honor of the former Green Beret who was killed May 29, 2004, near Kandahar after the vehicle in which he was riding struck an improvised explosive device. He was 28."Over 100 American and Coalition Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and special operators have lost their lives since the 9-11 attacks in the execution of the Global War on Terror and Operation Enduring Freedom," Lt. Gen. David Barno, the commander of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan, told a crowd of about 300, who braved a drizzly spring day in Afghanistan to attend the ceremony.Also killed with Eggers were Sgt. 1st Class Robert J. Mogensen, Spc. Joseph A. Jeffries and Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian J. Ouellette. The four men were fatally wounded while returning to their base as they tried to avoid another IED in the road.Eggers, a Special Forces detachment commander, and Mogensen, 26, a Special Forces weapons sergeant, were both assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C.Jeffries, 21, was a psychological operations specialist assigned to the 320th Psychological Operations Company, an Army Reserve unit based in Portland, Ore. Ouellette, 37, was assigned to the Navy Special Warfare Group Two out of Little Creek, Va. "Capt. Eggers was killed leading his Special Forces A Team in Zabul Provinceâ?¦a truly joint team working hard to help secure a critical part of this country and provide support to the Afghan government in a highly contested area," Barno said. "Their loss struck all of us here at the time particularly hard, as it was such a grievous loss of life in a single incident. "At their memorial service in Bagram, we were all struck at the pain suffered by the unit at the loss of so many men from such a tight group -- clearly a "Band of Brothers.""Eggers, a native of Cape Coral, Fla., was commissioned in May 1997 after graduating from The Citadel Military College in South Carolina where he majored in history. He completed Special Forces training in 2002 and was assigned to the 1st Bn., 3rd SFG in May 2003. Following his first deployment to Afghanistan in March 2003, Eggers was assigned to Company A as a detachment commander.He is survived by his wife, U.S. Army Capt. Rebecca Lynn Eggers, and his sons, John Joseph Eggers, 6, and William Howard Eggers, 4.Mrs. Eggers, who is originally from Johnstown, Wis., is currently serving as the chief of the Actions Branch at U.S. Army Special Operations Command Headquarters, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., as an adjutant general officer.The two met in the summer of 1996 during military training at Fort Bragg and stayed in touch through their senior year of college. The couple married May 20, 1997 in Charleston, S.C., after graduation.Mrs. Eggers was unable to attend the ceremony but wanted to say thank you to those who served with her husband, "for what they do everyday, without fanfare or pats on the back."I was extremely honored to hear that Lt. Gen. Barno wanted to rename the Kabul Compound in Danny's honor," she said in an e-mail from her office at MacDill. "I was a bit shockedâ?¦there are so many people who have lost their lives. I never imagined that something like this would be happening."Mrs. Eggers said her husband had a unique gift when it came it came to relating to people and that he could make anyone feel at ease. She said he was extremely good at adapting to other people's environments, which made him "a great SF officer."This is precisely why the senior military commander in Afghanistan and others wanted to keep his memory alive."Capt. Eggers is remembered as a dedicated Special Forces Soldier and consummate professional," Barno said. "His deployment as an ODA commander in the south was a key component of our overall strategy last year to open that part of the country up to registration for the Afghan presidential elections -- a move designed to provide the Afghan people the opportunity for each of them to choose their own future, free from oppression."The sacrifice of these brave men is a tribute to all of our coalition forces who risk their lives daily. Their missions -- carried on by their teams and thousands of other troops here -- turned the tide in Afghanistan last year, made clear by the huge success of the Afghan election, which set the course of this country's future. Capt. Eggers" legacy is that freedom, that success in this rugged land so far from his home."The ceremony concluded with the crowd observing a moment of silence for all those who have lost their lives in Afghanistan and the playing of the "Ballot of the Green Beret."Eggers Remembered for Humor, CompassionKABUL, Afghanistan -- Capt. Daniel W. Eggers, who was killed with three other service members May 29, 2004 near Kandahar after the vehicle in which they were riding struck an improvised explosive device, was remembered Sunday by those closest to him after a ceremony that renamed Kabul Compound in his honor.Eggers" wife, U.S. Army Capt. Rebecca Lynn Eggers, who was unable to attend the ceremony, said the two things people will remember most about her spouse are his "insane sense of humor and the fact that he treated everyone equally, both in his personal life and his professional life.""He reached out to those less fortunate without making them feel embarrassed by their situation," Mrs. Eggers said in an e-mail from her office at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., where she is serving as the chief of the Actions Branch at U.S. Army Special Operations Command Headquarters."He was humbled by the handicapped," she continued. "He was an extremely spiritual person that let his faith guide him." Also killed that day with Eggers were Sgt. 1st Class Robert J. Mogensen, Spc. Joseph A. Jeffries and Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian J. Ouellette. The four men were fatally wounded while returning to their base as they tried to avoid another IED in the road.Eggers" former neighbor, Jeffrey Weber of Manhattan, Kan., said in an e-mail posted on a Fallen Heroes Memorial Web site, "I am proud to have grown up next door to Daniel Eggers. I have received the deepest inspiration from his example. I am a better person today because of my proximity to such a selfless hero."Kris Mitchell of Columbus, Ga., went to school with Eggers and was a sophomore while he was a junior at The Citadel Military College in South Carolina."As a cadet, I knew him from ROTC; as a lieutenant, I knew him as a "Cottonbaler;" I also knew him as a friend -- admired and respected by all," he wrote in another e-mail posted on the Web site. "I was proud to see him in his Green Beret, it was him."At the 2003 Homecoming, I asked him about Special Forces and how he liked it. He told me that it was the best place for him and he loved it! Dan was a great man! I am honored to know him."Brian Ouellette of Uxbridge, Mass., a brother of Michael Ouellette, wrote in another e-mail, "My brother was surrounded with the best of the best."Mrs. Eggers said she and her husband came into the military in 1997 and being half of a dual-military couple was much like being half of any dual-income family."You learn to split everything, to include cooking dinner, picking up the children and doing the housework," she wrote in the e-mail. "Since we both worked the same amount of time, there was never an expectation that one of us would pull more of the load at home."We were extremely lucky in that, while we were in school, we were able to be stationed together fairly easily. And, until Dan became SF, he hadn't been on a deployment for more than 30 days."Mrs. Eggers went on to say they were fortunate in that they didn't have to leave their two children, John Joseph Eggers, 6, and William Howard Eggers, 4, at the same time, 'something that happens more and more often now.""So, for us having two military members in the same family was not nearly as difficult as I know some people's situations are," she wrote. "He was a wonderful husband and father and we miss him dearly."

• Date Taken: 03.21.2005
• Date Posted: 03.21.2005 11:40
• Story ID: 1381
• Location: KABUL, AF