Ramsey, Waid Charles

Waid Charles Ramsey was a 41-year-old Army National Guard captain from the small town of Red Bay, Alabama. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), based in Birmingham, Alabama. The 20th Group is a component of the Army National Guard specializing in unconventional warfare.

According to the Department of Defense, Captain Ramsey died on August 4, 2011, at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E in Paktika province, Afghanistan. The official casualty report listed the cause as hostile fire. Specific details of the incident that led to his death were not widely disclosed in public releases, consistent with operations involving Special Forces units.

Ramsey's death occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. By 2011, the conflict was in its tenth year, marked by a surge of U.S. forces that had begun in 2009 and was starting to draw down. Paktika province, bordering Pakistan, was a known area of insurgent activity and complex terrain.

Following his death, Captain Ramsey was posthumously promoted from the rank of First Lieutenant to Captain. He was survived by his wife and children. A memorial service was held in his hometown, and he was buried with full military honors.

Captain Ramsey is memorialized on the Army National Guard Memorial in Washington, D.C., and on local monuments in Alabama. His name is inscribed on Panel 9W, Line 93 of the Afghanistan War Memorial at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia.

Captain Ramsey 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.

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