Army Capt. Jason E. Holbrook

Remember Our Heroes

Army Capt. Jason E. Holbrook, 28, of Burnet, Texas

Capt. Holbrook was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died July 29, 2010 at Tsagay, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his military vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Kyle R. Warren.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers from Central Texas and New Hampshire were killed when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while on reconnaissance patrol in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said on Saturday.

Capt. Jason E. Holbrook, of Burnet, and Staff Sgt. Kyle R. Warren, of Manchester, N.H., died from injuries sustained in the blast on Thursday in Tsagay, Afghanistan, the Defense Department said.

Holbrook was an alpha team leader and Warren was a medical sergeant, both assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C. Both were 28 and both were on their second deployment in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said.

Their deaths came during the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the nearly nine-year war in Afghanistan.

Highland Lakes Newspapers .... Burnet Soldier Killed In Afghanistan

A 28-year-old Army Officer from Burnet was killed Thursday when his unit was ambushed by insurgents in Afghanistan.

Capt. Jason Holbrook, a Green Beret, Ranger and member of the Army Special Forces, was killed Thursday morning when an IED hit his convoy around 6 a.m. Thursday, his family said.

An official press release from the Department of Defense containing details surrounding his death has not yet been released, but James P. Holbrook, the bereaved father of the fallen soldier, said Friday he and his family will be traveling with the soldier’s casket from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

“We’re in Delaware now,” said the father. “We’re going to Dover right now to pick him up.”

Holbrook graduated from the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point in 2004. As a member of the G4 company his final two years at the academy, Holbrook was an Environmental Science major. His first assignment was Fort Wainwright, Alaska, according to the Howitzer — his class yearbook.

Comment from a friend:

"Jason was roommates with my son Capt. Andrew Fleming while the two of them attended West Point. Jason and 3 or 4 of the other cadets would stay at our house on long weekends. He was a real gentleman. I recently had the opportunity to spend time with Jason and his wife at my son’s wedding. He and his with, Heather, were great to be with. Jason is a real American Hero. I will miss him. Our prayers in the Fleming family are for his wife and family. God bless all American service members and their families." Tom Fleming

“He was a member of our church,” said Mary Allen of the First Baptist Church of Bertram. “His parents were so proud…we were all very proud.”

Allen said Jason Holbrook would return to his hometown to visit family and friends at times during his active duty service, donning his West Point Army uniform.

“He came back several times after being overseas,” she said. “He was very striking.”

Randy Chasin, one of Holbrook’s high school teachers, said in his 20 years at Burnet High School, he’s always remembered Jason.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him,” he said. “But I remember how soft spoken and respectful he was…yes sir…no sir…the kind of boy every dad would want to claim. It didn’t surprise me when I heard he was going to West Point.”

Other family friends, such as Kenny Baker, said despite Holbrook’s accomplishments in the military and abroad, he was still the same kid from Burnet everyone loved and remembered.

Capt. Jason E. Holbrook, 28, of Burnet, left behind one sister in Victoria, who asked Sunday not to be identified. She was the only family from Victoria, his sister said.

“He was everywhere,” Baker said. “But he was the just the same…soft-spoken, common ‘ol country boy.”

Pastor Gordon Bergstrom with the First Baptist Church in Bertram, which Holbrook’s family attends, said that Holbrook’s relatives have flown to Dover, Delaware to bring the soldier’s remains back to Texas. He said funeral arrangements are pending.

Army Capt. Jason E. Holbrook was killed in action on 7/29/10.