Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan J. Wilson was the 3000th member of the coalition to die during the Afghanistan war, the U.S. Defense Department reported Friday. The 26-year-old sailor was serving in Bahrain, where he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. American engagement in Afghanistan began in October 2001, and Wilson was the 1,974th American to die in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the ongoing mission in Afghanistan. Among the 50 other coalition countries, Britain has the second-largest number of dead in support of the mission, with 414 fatalities.
