Major Robert J. Marchanti II, RIP

The Pentagon has released the name of the US Army National Guard major murdered in an Afghan ministry this weekend.

The Pentagon has released the name of the US Army National Guard major murdered in an Afghan ministry this weekend.

Baltimore Sun (“Maryland Guard major, Baltimore County teacher killed in Afghan ministry“):

Maryland National Guard Maj. Robert J. Marchanti II was one of two U.S. military officers shot to death inside a secure Afghan ministry building on Saturday, guard officials said Monday.

The former Baltimore County physical education teacher had been working since September as a mentor to the Afghan National Police, part of the NATO partnering mission at the center of U.S. strategy in the wartorn country. It was his first tour in Afghanistan.

[…]

Marchanti, 48, was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division Security Partnering Team II. He was due to return from his one-year deployment in September.

“He will be missed very much,” sister-in-law Trish Sauter said Sunday. “He was a very caring person. He wanted to help.”

The Towson University graduate had worked full-time for the Maryland National Guard since 2008. Before that, he spent 17 years in the Baltimore County schools, teaching at Bedford Elementary, Victory Villa, Mars Estates, Dundalk Elementary and Carney.

Marchanti joined the U.S. Army in 1984 and the Maryland National Guard in 1986, guard spokesman Lt. Col. Charles Kohler said. He had worked since May 2008 at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore as a construction and facilities management technician.

Maj. Gen. James A. Adkins, the commander of the Maryland National Guard, informed guard members of Marchanti’s death in a message Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Marchanti family during this most difficult time,” Adkins said. “He was married and had four children and one grandson. It is impossible for most of us to understand the emotional turmoil they must be going through. The loss of one of our own is always very difficult, and little can be said to ease the pain, but we will always remember Rob’s dedication to our nation as we honor his service and sacrifice.”

Marchanti is survived by his wife, Peggy; four children, Aaron, Leah, Ian and Jonah; and a three-year-old grandson.

I would like to be able to tell you that their loss was not in vain.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Brummagem Joe says:

    I would like to be able to tell you that their loss was not in vain.

    Well you can apply this to all the adventures that Bush/Cheney signed us up for and Republicans supported all the way.

  2. Eric says:

    Thanks for politicalizing this Joe…

  3. OzarkHillbilly says:

    I would like to be able to tell you that their loss was not in vain.

  4. Brummagem Joe says:

    @Eric:

    Thanks for politicalizing this Joe…

    Well you see it is political. When statesmen practise suicidal statecraft people end up getting killed. I never subscribed to dismissals of Bush as an idiot but he and the cabal of people around him have earned my everlasting disdain because by his actions he brought misery and death to thousands of American and Iraqi homes. One can mourn the death of this guy who I’m sure was totally admirable but then you have to mourn the deaths of the thousands of others this lunacy has brought about.

  5. Carson says:

    Where is the apology from the Afgahn government to the family of this American hero?

  6. Brummagem Joe says:

    @Carson:

    Where is the apology from the Afgahn government to the family of this American hero?

    Actually Karzai apologised a couple of days ago. You need to get up to speed.