Sgt. Roy A. Wood

Sgt. Roy A. Wood

Special Forces Medical Sergeant

was fatally injured Jan. 9

in an accident

near Kabul, Afghanistan,

during a return convoy from

Qalat to Bagram Air Base.

Special Forces Soldier killed in Afghanistan

U.S. Army Special Operations Command Public Affairs Office

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, April 14, 2004) —

An Army National Guard Special Forces Soldier died Jan. 9 in Afghanistan from injuries sustained in a non-hostile vehicle accident.

Sgt. Roy A. Wood, a Special Forces medical sergeant assigned to the National Guard’s Company C, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was fatally injured when the vehicle he was riding in was involved in a traffic accident near Kabul, Afghanistan, during a return convoy from Qalat to Bagram Air Base.

Wood was medically evacuated to a combat support hospital at Bagram Air Base, where he died from his wounds.

Wood, 47, was a resident of Alva, Fla. In civilian life, he worked as an Emergency Physician at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, Fla.

Wood’s 24-year military career with the Army Reserve and Army National Guard was distinguished and unique. After receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in 1979, he was first assigned to the Army Reserve’s 421st Quartermaster Company (Light Airdrop Supply), based in Fort Valley, Ga.

While assigned to the 421st, Wood received training as a quartermaster officer, a parachute rigger, and participated in both basic airborne and jumpmaster courses.

In January 1982, Wood left the 421st to begin an association with U.S. Army Special Forces that would last until, and beyond, his death.

His first SF assignment was to the Army Reserve’s 11th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Meade, Md., where he served in the 3rd Battalion’s Company A as the detachment executive officer for Operational Detachment-A 1175.

In May 1983, Wood became Detachment Commander for ODA 1175 after returning from the Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course.

In October 1984, he left ODA 1175 to become the Company Logistics Officer.

Wood served in a variety of positions at the 11th SFG over the next 11 years, including operations officer and support company commander.

In 1996, after two years on inactive Individual Ready Reserve status, Wood was assigned as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., where he worked as an area analyst.

After four years at USSOCOM, he served a year with the Army Reserve’s 73rd Field Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., before switching from the Reserve to the Army National Guard and renewing his association with Special Forces.

Wood was assigned to 3rd Bn., 20th SFG in December 2001, where he served for a year as the Battalion Surgeon, supervising medical coverage of three Special Forces companies and one support company.

In December 2002, Wood resigned his commission to become a Special Forces medical sergeant on Operational Detachment-A 2092, Co. C, 3rd Bn., 20th SFG.

Wood, with ODA 2092, was mobilized in July 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

At the time of his death, Wood was pending appointment as a Special Forces warrant officer, a position in which he would have served his team as an assistant detachment commander.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Reserve Achievement Medal with Silver Hourglass device, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Basic Parachutist badge, the Parachute Rigger badge, the Ranger tab and the Special Forces tab.

His military education includes the Quartermaster Officer Basic Course, the Infantry Officer Advanced Course, the Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course, the Basic Airborne Course, the Advanced Airborne Course, the Parachute Rigger School, and the U.S. Army Ranger Course.

His civilian education includes a diploma from Dixie County High School in Cross City, Fla., a bachelor’s degree in biology from Mercer University in Macon, Ga., and a doctor of medicine degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Fla. He also completed a medical internship at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital, a medical residency at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital and was board certified as an emergency medicine physician by the American Board of Emergency Physicians.

Roy Wood, 47

with his

Wife

Hana Wood

Son

Roy Wood, 6

and

Daughter

Caroline Wood, 3