FORT CARSON, Colo. – A Fort Carson soldier on his seventh deployment overseas died in combat in Afghanistan on Saturday, the Department of Defense announced.
Sgt. Maj. James G. "Ryan" Sartor, 40, was killed in the Faryab Province by enemy small arms fire, officials said. Sartor, who was from Teague, Texas, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson.
He served in Iraq as an infantryman in 2002 and as a Green Beret in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010, according to the Army. He was also deployed to Afghanistan in 2017.
"Ryan was a beloved warrior who epitomized the quiet professional," Col. Brian R. Rauen, commander of the 10th Special Forces Group, said in a statement. "He led his soldiers from the front and his presence will be terribly missed."
Sartor was highly decorated, earning Bronze Star Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, among others. He will be posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal and a Bronze Star Medal.
Four other Fort Carson soldiers have died in Afghanistan this year. Sgt. 1st Class Will Lindsay and Spc. Joseph P. Collette were killed in March, and Master Sgt. Micheal B. Riley and Sgt. 1st Class Elliott J. Robbins died in June.