Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott M. Carney

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott M. Carney, 37, of Ankeny, Iowa.

SFC Carney was assigned to the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa Army National Guard. He died August 24, 2007 of wounds sustained from a non-combat related incident in Herat, Afghanistan. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation. Also killed in the accident was Sgt. 1st Class Daniel E. Miller, 43, of Rossford, Ohio.

Ankeny soldier killed in Afghanistan Humvee crash
PERRY BEEMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

An Ankeny soldier was killed in Afghanistan Aug. 24 when the Humvee in which he was a passenger rolled during convoy operations near Herat, the Iowa Army National Guard announced this afternoon.

Sgt. 1st Class Scott M. Carney, 37, of Ankeny, a native of Ohio and a graduate of Upper Iowa University, was the 20th member of the Iowa Army National Guard to die in duty related to missions in Afghanistan or Iraq since 2003.

He is the 60th person with Iowa ties to die in the war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003.

Funeral arrangements are pending with Westover Funeral Home in Des Moines.

Carney’s family, which requested privacy, said in a statement: ”It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of our beloved husband and father, Scott Michael Carney…Scott died doing what he loved, serving his country and protecting the freedom that we enjoy and providing the people of Afghanistan with the opportunity for freedom.”

“We will remember him, his sense of humor, his faith in God and his love for his country with great pride.”

The incident is still under investigation. Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Gregory Hapgood said he had no information on where the convoy was headed, the condition of the driver, the possibility of driver error, or whether there were any other factors. Investigators are treating the situation as an accident.

“I can tell you that it is an extremely rugged place,” Hapgood said. “The driving conditions are harrowing to say the least.”

Col. Tim Orr of the Iowa Army National Guard, who had worked with Carney, said Carney was a model soldier who loved his family and the Army above all.

Carney enlisted in the Army in March 1989, and joined the Iowa Army National Guard in December 2000. This was his first combat mission, and he was part of a team of 50 Iowa soldiers training Afghan police and soldiers. He arrived in Afghanistan in May 2007.

“He was a man who really liked what he was doing,” Orr said. “The Army was his life. He loved his family dearly. He was a great soldier, a great family member and he also was part of the team.”

Survivors include his wife, Jeni and his 12-year-old twin sons, Jacob and Justin; his mother and father, Geneva and John Carney of Somerset, Ohio; brothers Craig Carney of Woodbridge, Va., Russell Carney and Jason Carney of Somerset; and a sister, Lisa Robinson.

Carney was born on July 14, 1970 in Somerset, Ohio and graduated from Sheridan High School in Thornville, Ohio, in 1988. He was a member of his high-school wrestling team.

Carney earned an associate degree from Upper Iowa University in 2003. He also studied at the University of Maryland.

Carney was assigned to the Guard’s Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, based in Boone, Ia.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Scott M. Carney was killed in action on 8/24/07.