Guestbook: Offer condolences to friends and family

FORT BLISS -- Another Fort Bliss soldier was killed during the weekend as the post continues to feel a terrible toll from the war in Afghanistan.

Fort Bliss soldier Spc. Kyle P. Stoeckli, 21, of Moseley, Va., died Saturday from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked with a bomb in Maiwand, Afghanistan.

Stoeckli was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division.

Fort Bliss officials were not able to provide a biography of the fallen soldier or a photo but expect to be able to release more information today.

Stoeckli was the ninth soldier from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, or Ready First Brigade as it's nicknamed, to be killed in Afghanistan since May 4 in three separate bombing incidents.

"We are saddened by the loss of another soldier assigned to the Ready First Brigade," Fort Bliss spokesman Maj. Joe Buccino said in an email.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldiers and families affected by this loss," Buccino continued. "It is our duty back here on Fort Bliss to do everything we can to comfort the soldiers and families of the Ready First. All of Fort Bliss and El Paso must keep our all of our deployed

soldiers in mind."

Fort Bliss, one of the military's busiest deployment points, has about 6,000 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan.

On May 4, five Fort Bliss soldiers, ages 19 to 28, died in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan. These soldiers were: 1st Lt. Brandon J. Landrum, 26, Lawton, Okla.; Staff Sgt. Francis G. Phillips IV, 28, Meridian, N.Y.; Spc. Kevin Cardoza, 19, Mercedes, Texas; Spc. Brandon J. Prescott, 24, Bend, Ore; and Spc. Thomas P. Murach, 22, Meridian, Idaho.

Three other soldiers from the 1st Brigade were killed in a bomb blast on May 14. These soldiers were Pfc. Cody J. Towse, 21, of Elk Ridge, Utah; Spc. William J. Gilbert, 24, of Hacienda Heights, Calif.; and Spc. Mitchell K. Daehling, 24, of Dalton, Mass.

A memorial service for these three soldiers is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday at the 1st Armored Division Chapel.

David Burge may be reached at dburge@elpasotimes.com; 546-6126. Follow him on Twitter @dburge1962