PH-born US commando dies after explosion in southern Afghanistan

This image proved by the Army show Sgt. 1st Class Reymund Rarogal Transfiguracion, 36, from Waikoloa, Hawaii. The U.S. military says the Army special forces soldier died Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, from wounds he received earlier this month in southern Afghanistan. He was wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated near him while he was on patrol. (U.S. Army via AP)

WASHINGTON — An Army special forces soldier has died from wounds he received earlier this month in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province, the Defense Department said Monday.

Sgt. 1st Class Reymund Rarogal Transfiguracion, 36, of Waikoloa, Hawaii, died Sunday at a hospital in Germany. He was wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated near him while he was on patrol.

Transfiguracion was a staff sergeant when he was wounded but was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class, said Maj. Beth Riordan, spokeswoman for 1st Special Forces Command. He was an engineer assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

Born in the Philippines, Transfiguracion enlisted in the Hawaii National Guard in 2001. He joined the active duty Army in 2008, and later went through special forces training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Transfiguracion was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2008, and then went to the Philippines in 2010 for six months, Riordan said. His latest war tour in Afghanistan started in March.

Among his numerous awards, Transfiguracion received a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a Meritorious Service Medal as a result of his Afghanistan service. It was the second Purple Heart he received during his military career.   /kga