Two authors of "The War as We Saw It" killed in Baghdad

Three weeks ago, seven active duty NCO's wrote a powerful op-ed for the New York Times, The War as We Saw It. Yesterday, as General Petraeus was wrapping up his testimony in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, it was announced that two of the authors of that piece, SGT Omar Mora and SSG. Yance T. Gray, were killed in a truck accident in western Baghdad.

Just hours earlier, as testimony in front of the Armed Services Committee got underway, Senator Hagel of Nebraska asked Petraeus pointed questions about the contents of the of the op-ed.

SGT. Omar Mora was 28 years old, and called Texas City, Texas home. A native of Ecuador, he had just become a United States citizen. He is survived by his wife, Crista, and a five-year-old daughter, Jordan. SGT . Mora, it should be pointed out, was extended to November. His tour was originally scheduled to end last month.

SSG. Yance Gray was from Ismay, Montana, and is survived by his wife Jessica, and infant daughter Ava.

While the op-ed was being written, SSG Jeremy Murphy was shot in the head. He was airlifted to a hospital stateside and is expected to recover.

UPDATE: Decline and Fall has a wonderful tribute post, written by someone with a birds-eye view of the chaos.