I have the same concerns as Fester and I've also shared them with Yeager. I really do hope I am incorrect and if I am, I really am sorry but this just makes the little alarms go off in my head.
First, we have very scant information, only a first name, age and photo to go on.
Checking the casualties list, only two soldiers are near the age that is given for Maj1Shot. One is listed as being 37 and the other is 32. Maj1Shot's age falls in between at 36. Both officers were killed on Jan. 3 in As Sadiyah from small arms fire. There aren't any reported combat/non-combat deaths for January 1. The casualties reported for January 2nd can't be him since they were both 24.
Then there is the photograph. The photograph shows Maj1Shot in a flight suit sitting on an Apache holding his weapon. This photo leads me to believe that he served in a helicopter unit, further reinforced by another photo on your squadron's website of a helicopter unit group photo. I'm guessing this is the unit Maj1Shot is serving in. Looking at the casualty reports, the only casualties were those soldiers serving in infantry or special forces units. There aren't any reported casualties among any aviation unit for any of the services in January or in December for that matter.
There is also the name. None of the soldiers that were killed in January were named "Jesse" but that could have been his nickname.
Things just don't add up. Again, I do apologize for this post but it just doesn't feel right. I hope I am wrong. I also don't think RATTFINK or anyone else his squadron is trying to pull a fast one on us, but someone close to them is.
ack-ack