2/26/2012 - HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) -- An officer assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command died Saturday of wounds suffered from a gunshot in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Lieutenant Colonel John Darin Loftis, 866th Air Expeditionary Squadron, was deployed in support of OPERATION Enduring Freedom and working in the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ministry of the Interior with the AfPak Hands program as the chief plans advisor. The AfPak Hands program stood up in September 2009 to develop a cadre of specially trained U.S. servicemembers skilled in Afghan and Pakistani culture and language.
"Our deepest condolences go out to Darin's family during this difficult time," said Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel, AFSOC commander. "Our efforts are focused on helping them and we share in their sorrow.
"J.D. embodied the first SOF truth that humans are more important than hardware, and through his work with the Afghan people, he was undoubtedly bettering their society. We will never forget, and the Afghan people should never forget, of the valuable contributions he made to their country and community."
Loftis was a space and missile officer who became a regional affairs strategist in 2008. He entered the Air Force in 1996, receiving his commission through Officer Training School. Prior to deploying in March 2011, he had been assigned to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School, Air Force Special Operations Training Center, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Loftis was previously awarded the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.
"Darin was a great American, but more importantly he was a devoted father to our two daughters, a loving husband and caring son," said his wife, Holly B. Loftis. "We'd like to thank our friends and community for all of your thoughts and prayers, and we ask the media to respect our privacy during this very difficult time."
While assigned to a Provincial Reconstruction Team in 2009, Loftis was said to "have gained so much public praise because he was fluent in Pashto...his ability to engage with the Afghans in their own language and earn their trust was a valuable weapon in the counterinsurgency fight," in an article by Staff Sgt. David Flaherty, 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.
"When the Afghan people see that an American is speaking Pashto, they're more inclined to open up to him, and that's the reason why he's so successful," said Mohammad Ashraf Nasari, the governor of Zabul province, Afghanistan. "He can go among the local population and get their impression of U.S. forces. He can do this better than any other soldier because he speaks their language and knows their culture."
Loftis spoke Pashto proficiently and had limited skills in Dari and Arabic. While deployed in 2009, he was given a Pashto name: Esan, meaning the quality of being generous.
The incident is under investigation by the International Security Assistance Force.
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AFSOC Colonel killed Saturday in Kabul
February 27, 2012 8:06 AM
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STAFF REPORTS / Daily News
An officer assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command died Saturday of wounds suffered from a gunshot in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. John Darin Loftis, 866th Air Expeditionary Squadron, was deployed in support of OPERATION Enduring Freedom and working in the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ministry of the Interior with the AfPak Hands program as the chief plans advisor.
The 44-year-old was one of two high-ranking U.S. officers killed while inside the heavily guarded Interior Ministry in Kabul.
â??Darin was a great American, but more importantly he was a devoted father to our two daughters, a loving husband and caring son,â?? said his wife, Holly B. Loftis. â??Weâ??d like to thank our friends and community for all of your thoughts and prayers.â??
The Taliban is claming responsibility for the attack, reporting that the killings were in retaliation for what the U.S. officials called an inadvertent burdning of Qurans at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul.
CNN reported that a man went to the Afghan interior ministry, signed himself in and then retrieved his gun, according to an Afghan counter-terrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk with the media about the incident.
ISAF said that initial reports indicated "an individual" â?? whom they did not name â?? shot dead two NATO service members, later confirmed by an Afghan police official to be Lotis and a major, according to the CNN report.
The Afghan official identified the suspected gunman as Abdul Saboor, a junior officer in the ministry's intelligence department who the official claimed had spent two months in a Pakistani religious school.
"We believe it was 100 percent linked to the Quran burning because of the religious background of this junior officer," the counter-terrorism official told CNN.
At least 28 people have been killed in the protests since Tuesday including Niceville native Army Sgt. Joshua Born who died Thursday after being shot during a riot outside a U.S. base in the Khogyani District in Nangarhar Province....
Family of Loftis have announced a funeral service will be held soon in Fort Walton Beach. No date or time has been set.
Loftis' body is expected to arrive at Dover Air Force Base sometime Monday afternoon.
The incident is under investigation by the International Security Assistance Force.
Read more: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/afghanistan-47754-afpak-gunshot.html#ixzz1nbHEijmj
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Air Force Lt. Col. John Darin Loftis died serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.
With a heart for people and a skilled mind for language, John "Darin" Loftis, 44, of Murray, Ky., lived a full life of service. After studying engineering at Vanderbilt University, Darin joined the Peace Corps in 1992 with his bride, Holly. They served two years in Papua New Guinea with the Duna Tribe, where they spoke Melanesian Pidgin.
His life of service continued when he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1996, receiving his commission through Officer Training School. Darin was a space and missile officer who studied to become a regional affairs strategist. Through his studies, he earned three masters degrees.
In 2009, he volunteered for a deployment where he directly communicated with local Afghans. He spoke Pashto proficiently and had limited skills in Dari and Arabic. So highly respected, he was given a Pashto name: Esan, meaning the quality of being generous.
He died Feb. 25 from wounds received during an attack at the Interior Ministry, Kabul, Afghanistan. Before he was killed, Lt. Col. J.D. Loftis helped bridge the Afghan and American cultures while deployed in support of OPERATION Enduring Freedom. He was working with "AfPak Hands," a program of specially trained U.S. service members skilled in Afghan and Pakistani culture and language.
Darin was previously awarded the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal. Posthumously, he was awarded the Air Force Combat Action Medal and Purple Heart.
His greatest achievements though are his two beloved daughters, who he especially loved more than anything.
He is survived by his wife, Holly Brewer Loftis, and children, Alison and Camille, of Navarre, Fla. He is also survived by his parents: mother, Chris Janne and husband, Randall, of Paducah, Ky., father, John M. Loftis and wife, Peggy, of New Concord, Ky.; paternal grandmother, Inez Worthington of Cadiz, Ky.; and maternal grandfather, James Brooks, of Paducah, Ky., who is also a Bronze Star recipient. He is preceded in death by his maternal grandmother, Margaret Brooks; and his paternal grandfather, Ed Loftis.
A memorial will be held Monday, March 5, at the base chapel on Hurlburt Field, Fla.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the USO (http://www.uso.org/donate/), Fisher House (http://www.fisherhouse.org/donate/) and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (http://www.specialops.org/?page=Make_A_Donation). To donate to the Lt. Col. Darin Loftis Memorial Fund, send donations to the Austin Bank at P.O. Box 951, Jacksonville, TX 75766.
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