Insider attack in Afghanistan, Two Air Force Special Operators killed

Staff Sgt. Forrest B. Sibley, 31, of Pensacola, Florida, and Capt. Matthew D. Roland, 27, of Lexington, Kentucky, were killed Wednesday after their vehicle came under attack near Camp Antonik, Afghanistan.

According to officials in Afghanistan, the two airmen were killed by two men wearing Afghan military uniforms who opened fire within an Afghan National Defense and Security Forces compound in Helmand province.

Sibley was assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, based on Bragg’s Pope Field.  The special operations unit is one of the most heavily deployed squadrons in the Air Force, often serving with other special operations forces, such as U.S. Army Green Berets. Roland was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, based at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

“The losses of Matt and Forrest are a terrible blow to everyone who knew them,” Col. Wolfe Davidson, 24th SOW commander, said in a news release. “These two combat controllers were incredible warriors who not only volunteered to join our nation’s Special Operations Forces, but earned their way to the tip of the spear in defense of our nation.”

“The risks that these men and their teammates endured in combat and in training are all too well known to the Special Tactics community, but it does not make this great loss any easier to bear,” Davidson said in the news release. “We will honor Matt and Forrest for the legacy they left behind, embrace their families as our own and thank them eternally for their ultimate sacrifice for American freedom.”

The two shooters were reportedly killed when service members returned fire during the attack.

Sibley and Roland were deployed in support of the Resolute Support mission, aimed at bolstering Afghan forces after the end of major U.S. combat operations late last year.