SSG Joshua R. Whitaker

15 May 2007, Afghanistan

Special Forces

A native of Long Beach, California, Staff Sergeant Joshua R. Whitaker died on 15 May 2007 in Qalat, Afghanistan, when he was fatally wounded by enemy small arms fire during a firefight.

Whitaker enlisted in the Army as a Special Forces Candidate in 2003 and completed Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training, and the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. He graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 2006.

SSG Whitaker was assigned as an Engineer Sergeant in 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, when he died during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.