Prosser, Brian Cody
Male
Verified U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Brian Cody Prosser, 28, of Panorama City, California, was killed in hostile action on December 5, 2001, in Khaneh Gerdab, Afghanistan.
Their Story
Brian Cody Prosser was a 28-year-old U.S. Army Special Forces soldier from Panorama City, California. He served as a Staff Sergeant with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
On December 5, 2001, Prosser was killed by a U.S. bomb during a friendly fire incident near Khaneh Gerdab, Afghanistan. He was part of a team advising anti-Taliban Afghan forces when a satellite-guided 2,000-pound bomb, called in by a U.S. Air Force controller, struck their position. The strike killed three Green Berets and wounded 19 others, including five Americans.
Prosser died during the opening phase of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. The operation aimed to dismantle the Taliban regime and target the al-Qaeda network responsible for the September 11 attacks.
An investigation by the U.S. Central Command concluded the incident was an accident. The Air Force controller reportedly provided incorrect coordinates for the strike. The deaths of Prosser and his colleagues were among the first U.S. combat fatalities in the Afghanistan war.
Staff Sergeant Prosser was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He is memorialized at Fort Campbell and on the Afghanistan War Memorial at the California Capitol Park in Sacramento.
Explore Further
Staff Sergeant Brian Cody Prosser was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.
