Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey

Remember Our Heroes

Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey, 27, of Birmingham, Ala.

SSgt Hosey was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; died Sept. 17, 2011 in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire.

SSgt Hosey graduated from Clay-Chalkville High School in 2001.

"No matter how the class was going he could put a smile on your face," said Erin Kinnaird, who graduated with Hosey from Clay-Chalkville High School in 2001.

On days students were allowed to dress up in costumes in high school, Hosey would wear military uniforms, Kinnaird said. "He had always wanted to be in the military," she said.

After graduating high school Hosey joined the Army and became a communications intelligence specialist. After attending basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and then the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey in Monterey, California, He attended Advanced Individual Training at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo Texas.

Hosey's first duty assignment was with Company B, 304th Military Intelligence Battalion, 111th MI Brigade where he instructed officers in the MI Officer Basic Course and Officer Training Corps, in the proper deployment of a Signal Intelligence Company on the battlefield. He also instructed Air Force Surface Weather Officer assigned to Army units and worked with US Border Patrol in the emplacement of Remote Battlefield Sensor System for joint task forces.

In 2003, he was assigned to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where he served as a communications intelligence specialist. In 2005, Hosey was assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington.

Hosey's military education included the Defense Language Institute-Korean, Warrior Leader Course, Airborne School, Survival Evasion Resistance Escape School, and the Advanced Leader Course.

SSgt Hosey's awards and decorations include:

Purple Heart
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal
Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Army Good Conduct Medal with bronze clasp (two Loops)
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal (with Campaign Star)
Iraq Campaign Medal (with Campaign Star)
Global War on Terror Service Medal
Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with the Numeral 2
Army Service Ribbon
NATO Medal

Staff Sgt. Michael W. Hosey was killed in action on 9/17/11.