Dangerous hours

Moments ago, the Pentagon announced the identities of both U.S. service members involved in Friday's tragic incident in Afghanistan's Logar province. A confrontation with the enemy left one sailor dead and another missing.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley, 30, of Wheatridge, Colorado, was killed in the July 23 attack. According to the Pentagon, coalition forces recovered his remains on Sunday after an exhaustive search. He was assigned to Assault Craft Unit One in San Diego, California.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, 25, of Renton, Washington, is listed as Whereabouts Unknown. Defense Department officials said search and recovery efforts are continuing at this hour. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead also issued the following statement.

"The deepest sympathy of the entire Navy is with the family and friends of Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley, who died from wounds sustained in Logar Province, Afghanistan, Friday. We appreciate all the coalition forces have done to bring our shipmate home, and we know they continue to do everything they can in the search for Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, who remains missing. I remain extremely proud of the thousands of US Navy Sailors serving on the ground in Afghanistan today, and the tens of thousands who have deployed to Afghanistan during the past nine years."

May God comfort the McNeley family during this time of grief, and may He lend strength to Petty Officer 3rd Class Newlove and his loved ones during these uncertain, dangerous hours.