Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general, announced yesterday that two Soldiers assigned to the 818th Engineer Company were killed in action Dec. 3 while on duty in Afghanistan. An additional Soldier from the unit was wounded in the attack. They were conducting route clearance operations when an improvised explosive device struck their vehicle in southern Afghanistan.
Sgt. 1st Class Darren M. Linde, 41, of Devils Lake, N.D., and Spc. Tyler J. Orgaard, 20, of Bismarck, were killed in action. Spc. Ian Charles Placek, 23, also of Bismarck, was wounded in the attack and is listed in stable condition at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
The attack occurred at 7:58 a.m. CST on Dec. 3; local Afghanistan time was 6:28 p.m.
Linde is survived by his wife, Adrienne, of Devils Lake, and four children.
Orgaard is survived by his parents, Josephine and Jesse Orgaard, of Bismarck. He joined the North Dakota Army National Guard shortly before his graduation from Bismarck’s Century High School in 2011. This was his first overseas deployment.
The 818th Engineer Company is headquartered in Williston, N.D., with a detachment in Hazen, N.D. About 100 Soldiers with the unit entered federal active-duty status on April 27, 2012. The unit arrived for duty in Afghanistan in June.
The last North Dakota National Guard casualty in the Global War on Terrorism was six years ago. Including Linde and Orgaard, 14 North Dakota Guardsmen have died in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.
