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Pentagon releases names of airmen killed in Afghanistan jet crash

A turbine and part of the landing gear lie near the wreckage of a US Air Force E-11A plane on Tuesday, a day after it crashed in Deh Yak district of Ghazni, Afghanistan . The Pentagon has released the names of two Airmen who were killed in the crash. EPA-EFE/STR
A turbine and part of the landing gear lie near the wreckage of a US Air Force E-11A plane on Tuesday, a day after it crashed in Deh Yak district of Ghazni, Afghanistan . The Pentagon has released the names of two Airmen who were killed in the crash. EPA-EFE/STR

Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The Pentagon released the names Wednesday of the two Air Force members who were killed in a jet crash in Afghanistan earlier this week.

Lt. Col. Paul K. Voss, 46, of Yigo, Guam, and Capt. Ryan S. Phaneuf, 30, of Hudson, N.H., died in the crash of a Bombardier E-11A aircraft in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, Monday.

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Voss was assigned to Headquarters Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and Phaneuf was assigned to the 37th Bomb Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, the Department of Defense said.

On Tuesday, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett announced via Twitter that U.S. Navy forces had recovered the remains of the two Airmen and recovered the aircraft flight data recorder, then destroyed the remnants of the aircraft.

"It's really hard to describe how sad we are at the loss of two great airmen," ACC commander Gen. Mike Holmes said. "Lt. Col. Paul Voss was our brother and teammate. The men and women of our Air Force knowingly put themselves in harm's way, and I'm thankful for great Americans like them. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family members and our fellow airmen during this difficult time."

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Voss and Phaneuf are the third and fourth U.S. service members to be killed in Afghanistan this year after Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin, 29, and Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon, 21, were killed Jan. 11 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province.

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