Rivadeneira, Juan Luis
Male
Verified U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Juan Luis Rivadeneira, 27, of Davie, Florida, was killed in action on November 13, 2010, in Zhari District, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team,
Their Story
Staff Sergeant Juan Luis Rivadeneira died in Zhari District, Kandahar province, on November 13, 2010. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, he was killed by enemy small arms fire while his unit was conducting a dismounted patrol. The 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment was engaged in intense counterinsurgency operations in the district, a known Taliban stronghold west of Kandahar city.
Rivadeneira, a native of Davie, Florida, was 27 years old. He served with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. His battalion had deployed to Afghanistan in the spring of 2010 as part of a major coalition push into southern Afghanistan.
The Zhari District was a focal point of the war effort during the 2010 fighting season. U.S. and Afghan forces conducted clearing operations to disrupt Taliban supply routes and command networks. These patrols, often on foot, faced persistent threats from improvised explosive devices and direct fire.
Rivadeneira's death was recorded by the U.S. military as a hostile casualty of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was one of 499 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan in 2010, according to independent tallies, making it the deadliest year of the conflict for American forces.
His unit, the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, carries the nickname 'Strike Force.' It has a lineage dating to World War II and saw repeated deployments during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The battalion returned from its 2010-2011 Afghanistan deployment in the spring of 2011.
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan, formally concluded in December 2014. The conflict, which began in October 2001, resulted in the deaths of thousands of coalition service members and Afghan civilians.
Explore Further
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, concluded in December 2014 after 13 years of conflict. 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.
