Press Releases

Death of EUCOM Soldier

Ambassador McCulley Addresses Malian Journalists on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2007

It is with great sadness that the U.S. Embassy mourns the loss of life of an American soldier participating in military exercises with Malian counterparts in the north of the country. The U.S. Embassy would like to take this opportunity to thank the government of Mali for its assistance and solidarity in the aftermath of the accident.

Sergent 1st Class Sean K. Mitchell, age 35, of Monterey, California, from Special Operations Command, Europe, was killed by a weather-related accident while supporting bilateral military exercises in Kidal, Mali, July 7, 2007. Four other soldiers were injured and were transported to a medical facility in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, for treatment.

The U.S. government and the families of the American soldiers are deeply grateful to President Amadou Toumani Touré for the posthumous award of Mali's highest military decoration, the Cross of Valor, to Sergeant Mitchell as well as Medals of the Wounded for the wounded soldiers. On July 10, in the presence of the Chargé d'Affaires, i.a. of the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, the American military attaché, and the American battalion commander from USEUCOM, the Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, Brigadier General Seydou Traoré presented these medals to members of Sgt. Mitchell's unit, who accepted them on behalf of their fallen and injured comrades. Also present at the ceremony were members of the Malian army units who have been training with the American forces in Kidal.

The American flags at the U.S. Embassy in Bamako and at the residence of the Chargé d'Affaires will be lowered to half staff on Tuesday, the day of the funeral of Sergeant 1st Class Sean K. Mitchell.