Vice President Mike Pence attends a dignified transfer, in the rain, for Army Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, Calif., and Army Master Sgt. Luis DeLeon-Figueroa, 31, of Chicopee, Mass., Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. According to the Department of Defense, both men died as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations in Faryab Province, Afghanistan, while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
The U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command on Thursday released the names of the two Green Berets who were killed a day earlier during combat operations in Afghanistan.
Master Sgt. Luis F. Deleon-Figueroa, 31, and Master Sgt. Jose J. Gonzalez, 35, died as a result of small arms fire in northern Faryab Province. Both were members of 7th Special Forces Group, which is based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Gonzalez, a native of La Puente, California, also joined 7th Group in 2014. He was also posthumously promoted to Master Sergeant. His family requested that no photo or additional information be released.
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Army Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, Calif., Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. According to the Department of Defense, Gonzalez died as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations in Faryab Province, Afghanistan, while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Vice President Mike Pence joins military officers and a chaplain in a prayer at the transfer cases containing the remains of Army Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, Calif., and Army Master Sgt. Luis DeLeon-Figueroa, 31, of Chicopee, Mass., are watched over by Air Force personnel Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. According to the Department of Defense, both men died as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations in Faryab Province, Afghanistan,while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Army Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, Calif., past Vice President Mike Pence, Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. According to the Department of Defense, Gonzalez died as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations in Faryab Province, Afghanistan, while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Vice President Mike Pence walks past an Army Carry Team, during a dignified transfer in the rain for Army Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, Calif., and Army Master Sgt. Luis DeLeon-Figueroa, 31, of Chicopee, Mass., Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. According to the Department of Defense, both men died as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations in Faryab Province, Afghanistan,while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Vice President Mike Pence, right, walks with Army Gen. Joseph Martin, vice chief of Staff of the Army, center right, Sgt. Major of the Army Michael Grinston, center left, and Alex Beeher, Assistant Secretary of the Army, left, during a dignified transfer for Army Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, Calif., and Army Master Sgt. Luis DeLeon-Figueroa, 31, of Chicopee, Mass., Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. According to the Department of Defense, both men died as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations in Faryab Province, Afghanistan,while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Vice President Mike Pence attends a dignified transfer, in the rain, for Army Master Sgt. Jose Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, Calif., and Army Master Sgt. Luis DeLeon-Figueroa, 31, of Chicopee, Mass., Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. According to the Department of Defense, both men died as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations in Faryab Province, Afghanistan, while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
“It was an honor having them serve within the ranks,” said Col. John W. Sannes, commander of 7th Group. “They were a part of our Family, and will not be forgotten.”
The deaths came as U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad resumed negotiations with the Taliban aimed at ending America’s longest war. There have been eight previous rounds of negotiations over the past year, and key issues include the withdrawal of American troops, a cease-fire, intra-Afghan talks, and Taliban guarantees that Afghanistan will not once again become a launch pad for global terror attacks.
There are still about 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and persistent attacks by both the Taliban and the Islamic State group affiliate continue to plague the country. The U.S. and NATO ended combat operations in Afghanistan in 2014, but troops remain to train and advise Afghan forces and to conduct counterterror operations against insurgents.
Deleon-Figueroa was from Chicopee, Massachusetts, and served in the Army for more than 13 years. He became a Green Beret in 2014, and deployed twice to Afghanistan and twice to South America. Previously, he had done tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an infantry soldier.
He was posthumously promoted to master sergeant, and he received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
