William Carlson, 43, fought in Operation Enduring Freedom. He retired from the Army last spring.
They called him “Chief” because some of his family members were Dakota Blackfeet. He lived in Southern Pines with his wife, Cheri, and their sons Shaun, who is in college, and Shayne, a student at Union Pines High School.
Three weeks ago, Carlson went back to war, this time as a civilian working under contract to the CIA. He was assigned to the CIA’s Directorate of Operations.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, Carlson was involved in a raid against suspected Taliban and al Qaeda forces southwest of the Afghan border town of Shkin. He and another CIA operative, Christopher Glenn Mueller of San Diego, were killed while tracking terrorists operating in the region, according to a statement released by the CIA.
“With the Central Intelligence Agency, they continued their contributions to the security of the United States and the cause of freedom in the world,” CIA Director George Tenet said in the statement. “William Carlson and Christopher Mueller were defined by dedication and courage.”
Before working for the CIA, Carlson, had extensive experience in Army special operations. Mueller, 32, was a veteran of Navy special operations.
“The circumstances surrounding the tragic deaths of these two individuals were such that CIA determined that their names could be released publicly without compromising ongoing operations or any current intelligence activities,” the release stated. “The Agency decision was also made after consulting with the officers’ families.”
A group of Taliban and al Qaeda fugitives fired rockets and heavy machine-guns on a base used by U.S.-led troops and their Afghan allies in the Afghan border town of Shkin, near the Pakistan border, according to Paktika province governor Mohammad Ali Jalali, as cited in Pentagon reports.
Carlson and Mueller were working with the Afghan army troops. They were officially listed as state department security officers, but the state department denied any knowledge of them at the time.
Shkin is in a rocky border area that has been the scene of fierce battles recently. U.S. military forces, with the help of Afghan allies, have been attacking resurgent Taliban and al Qaeda guerrillas in that region.
In the raid that killed Carlson and Mueller, 10 suspected enemy fighters were killed by Afghan army troops backed up by U.S. helicopters and war planes, according to a statement from Pentagon sources Monday. Pentagon officials said the two apparently were hit by “armor piercing rounds” while working with the Afghan Army troops.
Air support was called in on Tuesday.
“These two men were no strangers to the hardships of service to country,” Tenet said. “They had been counted among the best of America’s military. At this time of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends. Their sacrifice — for the peoples of the United States and Afghanistan — must never be forgotten.”
