Three Soldiers killed Wednesday in Pakistan were from U.S. Army Special Operations Command units at Fort Bragg, the Pentagon said. 

The Soldiers were part of a low-profile mission and were the first U.S. Soldiers to die in Pakistan, officials said.

The Soldiers killed were Sgt. 1st Class Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller, 35, of Callettsburg, Ky., 96th Civil Affairs Battalion of the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade; Sgt. 1st Class David J. Hartman, 27, of Okinawa, Japan, who was in the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion; and Staff Sgt. Mark A. Stets Jr., 39, of El Cajon, Calif., assigned to the 8th Psychological Operations Battalion of the 4th Psychological Operations Group.

The Soldiers died of wounds from the explosion of a homemade bomb in the Lower Dir District of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province. They were in the area to attend the inauguration ceremony of a girls' school recently renovated with U.S. humanitarian assistance.

The blast also killed three children and a Pakistan paramilitary Soldier. Two other U.S. Soldiers and about 100 people were wounded.
The Fort Bragg Soldiers were among about 200 U.S. military personnel working for the Office of the Defense Representative Pakistan, said Maj. John H. Redfield, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command at Tampa, Fla. They were among the U.S. military personnel in Pakistan to conduct training at the invitation of the Pakistan Frontier Corps, according to the U.S. Central Command.

Sluss-Tiller had previously deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo. He is survived by his wife, Melissa, and daughter, Hannah, of Sanford; his father, Edward Tiller, of Sevierville, Tenn.; and mother and stepfather, Jane and Forest Blankenship, of Sanford.

He would have turned 36 on Valentine's Day, said his wife of 16 years. In his letters, he requested crayons and Play-Doh to give to children, she said.

"Matthew was my hero," his wife said. "He was a good man, loved the Army, loved everything about serving his country."

The couple had known each other since eighth grade.

"He loved people," she said. "He had a heart of gold and would readily do anything for anybody. He was a great father. Matthew did a little bit of everything. He was active in our community; he was active on post. He loved life."

Sluss-Tiller had three years left until he was eligible to retire from the Army with benefits, she said.

"My heart breaks," she said. "The military was a part of him. He didn't question serving his country."

He enlisted in the Army Reserve as a heavy construction mechanic in 1991. Two years later, he went on active duty as a signal specialist and served at Fort Bragg, Germany, and Kuwait. He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion in April and has served as a civil affairs noncommissioned officer in Civil Military 
Operations Cell and most recently as team sergeant of Civil Affairs Team 622.

Sluss-Tiller's awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He was also awarded the Senior Parachutist's Badge, Gold Recruiter's Badge and German Jump wings.

Hartman previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is survived by his pregnant wife, Cherise Sabio of Rosamond, Calif., and their son, Michael. He also is survived by his parents, Greg and Mikail Hartman of Merced. Hartman was a sergeant in the Civil Military Operations Cell and a former civil affairs team sergeant.
Hartman graduated from Kadena High School, Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa in 2000, and enlisted into the U.S. Army. He was assigned as a civil affairs noncommissioned officer for Team 622 in Company B of the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion.

He served at Fort Bragg in the 50th Signal Battalion as an electronic maintenance shop foreman, forced entry switch section team chief and sergeant, senior electronic maintenance technician and senior switch technician.
Hartman's awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary and Service medals, NCO Professional Development Ribbon and Overseas Service Medal.

Stets previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Nina, and daughters, Jessica, December and Rachael, of Fayetteville. He was a native of California. Stets was a senior psychological operations sergeant.

He joined the Navy in 1989, enlisted in the Army in 1995 as an artilleryman and then reclassified to become a psy ops specialist in 2004.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medals, Korean Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, South West Asia Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Citation. 

Army investigators have charged a 22-year-old Fort Bragg soldier with two burglaries and a sexual assault on the installation.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command said its agents are working "very closely" with law enforcement in Fayetteville and elsewhere. The soldier hasn't been charged in any of the seven reported sexual attacks in Fayetteville.

The suspect is identified as Spc. Aaron M. Pernell, an indirect fire infantryman assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment. He has been charged with burglaries and sexual assault, which CID said occurred during one of the burglaries.

Pernell is a native of Tulsa, Okla., and entered the Army in March 2006, according to CID. He completed initial entry training at Fort Benning, Ga.

The reported crimes on Fort Bragg occurred in December in the Ste. Mere Eglise neighborhood.

Three weeks ago, Fayetteville police said it had received seven reports of sexual attacks in the city since June. City police said the attacks appeared similar to the Fort Bragg attack. In each of the cases, an intruder broke into an apartment or condo at night or early in the morning. In some of the cases, the intruder took money or items from the home.

Law enforcement from across the Cape Fear region formed a task force in January to investigate the attacks. Investigators have said they weren't sure of any definitive links between the Fayetteville cases and the one on Fort Bragg. The most recently reported attack was in Hope Mills on Jan. 10.

CITE SOLEIL, HAITI — Were this any other deployment, as the convoy worked its way down narrow, smoke-filled streets, Army medic Spc. Willie Green would be clenched in the back of the Humvee, praying no one got hurt but just the same reciting medical procedure over and over in his head.

Downrange is a world where you “prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Green said. “It’s gonna happen. You’ve got to anticipate. You’re out there and they want you dead just as much as you want to return the favor.”

In this densely-packed, rough-and-tumble neighborhood, the pungent smell and the milling crowds are familiar. So are the burning trash, the feral dogs and the waving children chasing the convoy.

But in Haiti the 6,000 troops on the ground aren’t seeking out an enemy. They are helpers rather than aggressors.

“Everywhere I go, I get welcomed with open arms,” said Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, head of Task Force Haiti.

“We’re here by invitation.”

Before leaving Fort Bragg, N.C., one company commander with the the 82nd Airborne Division stood on a bench near the flight line and told his Soldiers: “The No. 1 thing I want you to understand is we are going to Haiti to help people.”

“We’re not going for gunfights,” Capt. Andrew Salmo said he told his men. “Knocking heads together ain’t going to help them.”

For the battle-hardened noncommissioned officers, it’s a steep change of pace.

Staff Sgt. James Gresham, a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, said he initially felt exposed without his body armor.

“To come here and be in a very relaxed security posture, not having to roll around looking for IEDs or worry about suicide bombers and that kind of stuff, it’s a pretty big switch for us,” he said.

But when the crowds start swarming, old instincts kick in.

“The ones with combat experience want to be a little more aggressive,” said 1st Sgt. Vaughn Overton of Company C.

Overall though, there is a surprising lack of combat patches on the arms of the soldiers in Haiti with the 82nd Airborne. For some companies, 70 percent are on their first deployment.

“This is an eye-opener for a lot of them,” Overton said.

The 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, to which they belong, is the military’s Global Response Force, ready to react to a disaster anywhere in the world with boots on the ground in less than 96 hours.

Lt. Col. Pat Hynes, commander of 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry, said being a part of such a unit comes with mixed feelings since it has meant “being home for a while.”

“The Soldiers are watching those on their left and right deploying, and they want to go. They want to contribute,” he said.

Most of the lieutenants are still waiting for their chance to lead in war. 

“I can see this look in their eyes,” Salmo said. “They think they’re missing something. I tell them: ‘What you’re doing here, it’s a great experience.’”

Predawn on a recent morning, the soldiers walked the streets of Cite Soleil, a neighborhood of about 250,000 packed into four-square-kilometers of tin-roofed shacks and makeshift tents. Their weapons hung loosely in front of them. The mission was to distribute thousands of bottles of water and food rations. The grateful Haitians, quickly and without complaint, followed all instructions given over a bullhorn by translators.
Unpacking high-energy biscuits to be handed out to the children, Sgt. Otis Richardson shrugged and said he’d rather be in Afghanistan.

Then a line of happy kids, many of whom wore only T-shirts, came crashing toward him with hands outstretched. He knelt to their height and smiled and laughed with each one as he handed them biscuits.

“OK, so yeah, I enjoyed that,” the 26-year-old said after the last kid walked away.

At the main hospital in Port-au-Prince, any time a soldier struck up a conversation with a Haitian, he’d be surrounded by more than a dozen within in minutes.

“I wish I could speak Creole so I could speak with more them,” said Gresham, who was gregarious and relaxed on the streets here.

It was a proximity that just never would be allowed in combat, and many Soldiers said they enjoyed the opportunity to be in uniform without the element of fear - whether for their own personal safety or instilling it in others.

“It shows the other side of what we’re capable of,” Gresham said. “We’re very good at killing terrorists in combat, but were also capable of going out to other countries and helping a people who are in dire need.”

Still they recognize that what they’re doing will have an impact measured in days. 

“The depth of the poverty here is staggering,” Salmo said. “They eat mud. They eat mud cookies. So we aren’t fixing that tomorrow.”

No one has said yet how long U.S. troops will be in Haiti, but Keen said he thought it would be “a tragedy — a tragedy — to not have sufficient forces to feed the people.”

Still, some of the Soldiers have not been so moved by the experience.

In the back of a truck, jabbering to no one in particular, one sergeant flippantly remarked: “I joined the Army to shoot people. Nowhere in that contract did I say I wanted to come to Haiti and hand out humanitarian aid.”

Officers, while never pleased to hear something like that, say they understand the motivation behind such crassness.

“The Soldiers see the effect we’re having and it’s inspirational,” Salmo said. “At the same time, our job as infantrymen is to fight the enemy. That’s what we want to do.”

Despite being a part of the Global Response Force, Company A hasn’t been training for disaster relief.

“You have to have priorities,” Salmo said. “If you go to combat and all you have are these helper skills you’re probably going to have a problem. But if you train for Afghanistan and go to Haiti, you’ll be in good shape.”

The Soldiers are finding that some of the same skills needed to negotiate with the tribes of Afghanistan are coming into play in Haiti. The Army is tapping into the local leadership, often relying on pastors to direct them to those most in need.

Capt. Ramon Ramos, commander of Company C, attended a gathering this week of what is essentially a township council, using the opportunity to reach out and let them know the Army was there to help. It was much like a chai meeting in Iraq where soldiers sit cross-legged with local leaders, sipping tea and forging relationships.

In fact, many of the officers and senior NCOs see relief in Haiti as good preparation for counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. 

“This is a great warm-up act,” Salmo said. “Especially dealing with the local population. Right now in Afghanistan that’s where the war is going to be won — with the locals.”

He added: “The people will always be critically important to what we do, whether handing out food or going to war.”

WASHINGTON --- The Pentagon is mobilizing a massive relief effort to help Haiti earthquake victims, but there are worries that the response will still take days to be in place.

The military’s efforts are at the front end of what President Obama said Thursday would be a $100 million U.S. commitment to Haitian relief.

But it is taking time to get there. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was expected to arrive Thursday afternoon but now will not be there until today. The USNS Comfort, a hospital ship, hasn’t left the port of Baltimore yet because it still needs to collect supplies and personnel.

While the assessment teams are still conducting their review of the need in Haiti, mostly in Port-au-Prince, near the epicenter of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, there is a clear need for medical assistance.

The aircraft carrier arriving today has three operating rooms, several dozen hospital beds and can produce fresh water. The Bataan amphibious ship also possesses some medical assets and is being outfitted with more. But it is the Comfort hospital ship, with its 250 hospital beds and 12 operating rooms, that would appear to meet the most pressing need in Haiti.

A week for hospital ship to get there

Pentagon officials say that ship, one of the Navy’s two hospital ships, won’t leave Baltimore until this weekend and not arrive until sometime at the end of next week.

“It’s a slow moving vessel, it’s an older vessel, so it will take about a week to get down there once it gets all crewed up,” said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.

Ground troops are also being sent, including a brigade of about 3,500 Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., and about 2,000 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in Camp Lejeune, N.C. The mission of the ground forces remains unclear, as the relief effort unfolds and government officials wait to see if any civil unrest would require an American ground presence.

Pentagon officials say the Army unit will arrive in Haiti by the end of the week. The Marines, who will arrive on the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group ships, will wait offshore and only go into Haiti depending on what occurs.

Obama: U.S. moving 'as quickly as possible'

“Even as we move as quickly as possible, it will take hours, and in many cases days, to get all of our people and resources on the ground,” Obama said at a news conference at the White House Thursday, his second meeting with the press about Haiti.

Roads remain impassable, the main port is “badly damaged,” and poor communications pose major challenges, he said.

“None of this will seem quick enough if you have a loved one who’s trapped, if you’re sleeping on the streets, if you can’t feed your children,” Obama said. “But it’s important that everybody in Haiti understand, at this very moment, one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history is moving towards Haiti.”

The U.S. will likely be the largest contributor to relief, and military officials say it takes time to assess the need and move in those supplies and assets that are most needed. But the enormity of the effort lends itself to feeding a perception that the military bureaucracy gets in the way.

Frustration at logistical challenge

Pentagon officials themselves seemed to express frustration at the logistical challenge they were confronting. Gen. Douglas Fraser, head of U.S. Southern Command, briefing reporters Wednesday, said the initial assessment team would “finally” arrive later that afternoon.

Fraser, who is new at Southern Command but now finds himself at the forefront of the military’s relief effort, is expected to update reporters on the situation in Haiti later Thursday.

Meanwhile, Pentagon officials disagree with any contention that the U.S. military is moving too slowly.

“I just don’t subscribe to that premise,” said Whitman. “I think the U.S. military has been very forward leaning on this and in terms of moving assets and anticipating requirements.”

Other officials point out that it took the hospital ship Comfort five days to mobilize and get underway after Hurricane Katrina. For the Haiti earthquake, they say, it's taking just half that long.