Chief Petty Officer Christian Michael Pike, 31, of Peoria, Arizona died March 13 in Landstuhl, Germany as a result of combat related injuries sustained on March 10 while conducting stability operations in Maiwand District, Afghanistan. He was assigned to West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare Support Activity ONE. He attended Peoria high school, graduating in 2000. Chief Pike joined the Navy in 2001 and following recruit training in Great Lakes, Illinois, he was assigned to the Naval Technical Training Center Corry Station for Cryptologic Technician Technical (CTT) "A" School followed by assignment to USS CLEVELAND. In 2007, he transferred to Navy Information Operations Command Georgia before reporting to Naval Special Warfare Support Activity ONE on July 25, 2011.
8 comments:
RIP, shipmate.
From Navy Times: Naval Special Warfare Support Activity 1, Naval Base Coronado, California provides intelligence support for Naval Special Warfare Group One, which includes SEAL Teams ONE, THREE, FIVE and SEVEN, all based at Coronado. NSW Support Activity 1 has received only “20 or 30 guys” so far, and the final size of each unit is still under discussion, according to a Navy source. “They’re supposed to be battalion size,” he said. “For us, that’s approximately 200 people, but I’ve heard rumors that it could be as large as twice that.” The Navy intends the new units to fill a capabilities gap that has grown over the past five years, during which SEALs have been involved in sustained land combat operations for the first time in decades. “We saw a greater need to synchronize intelligence and operations,” the Navy source said. The Navy provided deploying SEAL elements with intelligence personnel, but this was a flawed arrangement because little in the training typically given to Navy intelligence sailors prepares them to support the SEALs’ post-Sept. 11 land combat missions, he added.
I think I saw an e-mail that said the CNO and VADM Rogers will be in Dover to meet his remains when they return to the U.S. from Germany.
From the U-T San Diego newspaper:
A Navy chief petty officer assigned to a Coronado-based unit has died from injuries suffered in Afghanistan.
Christian Michael Pike, 31, of Peoria, Ariz., died Wednesday in Landstuhl, Germany, as a result of combat-related injuries sustained on Sunday, the Defense Department said Thursday.
He was conducting stability operations in Maiwand District, Afghanistan.
His mother, Diana Pike, posted on Facebook that Pike was shot in the head during a firefight, suffering immediate brain death. She wrote that he was part of a five-man team fighting 16 to 18 enemy troops.
Despite a 10-hour battle, Pike received lifesaving measures from teammate Ben Pitassi, and was evacuated by helicopter to Germany.
About half of the combatants who attacked U.S. forces were killed in the battle, Pike wrote.
“Christian was so proud to be a Navy Chief with the SW Special Ops group and he was living honorably a life he chose. He wouldn’t have it any other way and neither would I,” Diana Pike wrote.
“Christian lived every day, fully and with joy in his heart. He was beautiful, compassionate, honorable, happy and he loved his friends, family, and Navy brothers and sisters with all his heart,” she wrote.
Pike’s girlfriend, Morgan Lakner, flew to Germany to be with Pike, said Chad Hughes, a friend of both.
“He was just your overall good guy, very easy to talk to, a lot of fun … kind of social, out there,” said Hughes, 39, a Department of Defense civilian employee based in San Diego.
Hughes said Pike had no children, to the best of his knowledge.
Pike, originally from Peoria, Ariz., enlisted in the Navy on Aug. 24, 2001.
After training, he was stationed at the Naval Technical Training Center in Pensacola, Fla., served on the amphibious transport dock Cleveland, and then spent 2007 to 2011 at the Navy Information Operations Command in Georgia.
He moved to Naval Special Warfare in July 2011. His full rank was a chief petty officer cryptologic technician.
Efforts to reach Pike’s mother and Lakner were unsuccessful.
Anonymous @ 1437
I would expect nothing less from VADM Rogers. He's the best flag that our community has had in many a year.
The CNO ain't so bad either. I knew him at PACFLT. Very personable.
Chief Petty Officer Pike,
Rest in peace Chief , you have done your part to keep our Nation free, and I will be forever thankful to you and those like you that gave their last full measure of devotion so we in this United States could remain the country that you gave your life for, thank you Chief Pike.
Very Respectfully,
E. A. Hughes, FTCM(SS), US Navy (Retired)
Navyman834
Amen Navyman834. Well said. God bless Chief Pike and watch over him.
We still miss you brother, you are not forgotten.
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