Shannon M. Kent was a United States Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer and Cryptologic Technician, who was deployed to Syria and killed in the 2019 Manbij bombing. (Wikipedia)
Born: 1983, New York
Died: January 16, 2019
Years of service: 2003–2019
Place of burial: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
Rank: Senior chief petty officer
Service/branch: United States Navy
"She was technically proficient in the tools of the trade, but also spoke seven languages fluently and was tactically capable. Maybe most important, she was seemingly fearless.
They were called “The Mohawks.” The job was dangerous, and those who were caught faced torture, death, and being dumped in the streets.
This is where the legend surrounding Kent began. It was 2007, and very few special operations personnel were willing or able to go speak to Iraqis out in the city in a low-visibility capacity. So Kent taught herself human intelligence techniques and, already fluent in the language, would go out and develop targets for the task force. Like most of Kent’s career, much of her work with the Mohawks was and is classified — and it likely won’t see the light of day for at least 13 more years. But the citation for her Joint Service Commendation Medal received on that deployment notes that she “contributed directly to the capture of hundreds of enemy insurgents and severely degraded enemy combat capability.”
https://coffeeordie.com/shannon-kent/
Shannon was a decorated servicewoman, receiving the Joint Service Commendation Medal twice, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, a Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Sea Deployment Ribbon, the Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon, and the Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon. Posthumously she was promoted to Senior Chief Petty Officer and awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and a Combat Action Ribbon. The Navy also credited her for work done for the NSA’s Operations Directorate in Special Operations.
https://foundationforwomenwarriors.org/shannon-m-kent-senior-chief-petty-officer-u-s-navy/