RIP SSG Curreri 2/1 SFG(A)

[Divemaster]

1st Group loses a brother. RIP.

Special Forces soldier drowns in Philippines
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
Published: October 30th, 2007 01:00 AM
A Special Forces soldier from Fort Lewis who was captain of his college swim team drowned while deployed to the Philippines, military officials said Monday.
Staff Sgt. Joseph F. Curreri, 27, died in an accident Friday at Siet Lake near Panamao in the southern Philippines, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command said in a news release.
Curreri, who grew up in Maryland but most recently lived in Los Angeles, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group at Fort Lewis. He was a communications sergeant on a Special Forces A team.
For many years, 1st Group teams have been sent to train Philippine government troops fighting Islamic militant groups in the nation’s southern islands. Two other soldiers from the unit have died there: one in a noncombat incident in June 2004, the other in a terrorist bombing on an outdoor restaurant in October 2002.
Curreri was serving his first deployment, according to the Special Operations Command release.
The command said he grew up in suburban Baltimore, swam and played water polo in high school, then attended the University of Southern California.
He was a four-year letterman on the USC swim team and captain his senior year. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and worked for a time as a tutor, swim coach and at a recruiting agency.
He joined the Army in July 2004 and went first to airborne training, then Special Forces training at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was assigned to 1st Group last year, according to the Army.
He is survived by his wife, Athena, of Los Angeles; his mother, Karen, and sister, Shannon, of Redondo Beach; his father, Frank, and step-mother, Tricia, and step-sister, Angelia, all of Parkeville, Md.

From the FRG notification: We will hold a unit memorial to honor Staff Sgt. Curreri on Thursday the 1st of November at 1100, at the Four Chaplains Memorial Chapel across the street from the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Compound. All members and friends of the 1st Special Forces Group Family Business are invited to attend.