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Military features

PHOTO GALLERIES

Back from Kosovo

Alaska Army National Guard soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, were reunited with friends and family at the Alaska National Guard armory at Camp Denali on Fort Richardson on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009, after a year-long deployment where they supported peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions in Kosovo.

Obama at Elmendorf Air Force Base

President Barack Obama spoke to a hanger full of airman and soldiers at Elmendorf Air Force Base Thursday afternoon, November 12, 2009.

SOLDIER PROFILES

Alaska's Fallen Soldiers

Running list of profiles of Alaskan, or Alaska-based, soldiers who have died since 2003.

Bomb kills Elmendorf airman in Afghanistan

BOMB: Bowles grew up in Tucson but was born in Anchorage.

By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com

Published: March 16th, 2009 08:26 PM
Last Modified: March 17th, 2009 07:13 AM

Four U.S. service members, including an airman based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, have been killed by a bomb in eastern Afghanistan, the Air Force said Monday.

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Timothy Bowles

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Staff Sgt. Timothy Bowles, 24, was among those killed early Sunday after their vehicle was destroyed by the roadside bomb, the Air Force said.

As part of a provincial reconstruction team, Bowles was on a four-vehicle security patrol to check on a local school, officials said.

Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Lee said Bowles was in an armored Humvee with three Army soldiers when the vehicle rolled over a pressure-sensitive bomb. The two servicemen in front, including Bowles, died instantly, and the two in the back died later, he said.

The names and duty stations of the soldiers involved were not immediately available.

Bowles, a member of the 3rd Wing who was deployed to Bagram Air Base, was a fire truck mechanic assigned to the 3rd Logistics Readiness Squadron. He deployed to Afghanistan on Nov. 1, 2008, and was scheduled to remain in country for nine months.

"He was always ready to go beyond what was merely expected of him," Colonel Richard Walberg, 3rd Wing vice commander, said of Bowles in a prepared statement. "In fact, on Sunday he filled in for a comrade who was not feeling well in Afghanistan."

The airman's father told Tucson, Ariz., NBC affiliate KVOA News that his son was born at Elmendorf but grew up in Tucson. Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Louis Bowles said he learned of his son's death Sunday morning.

Timothy Bowles graduated from Tucson High School in 2002 and attended Pima Community College before joining the Air Force, his father said. Bowles arrived at Elmendorf in July 2007.

His father described him as sensitive, caring and always willing to help others. Bowles is survived by his parents and sister.

Elmendorf plans to hold a memorial service for him this week.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.