Killed in action: Left, Lieutenant Ashley White, 24, and right, Private 1st Class Christopher A. Horns, 20, both died in the same IED explosion as Sgt. Domeij
Kandahar: Domeij was near the province when his attack force triggered an IED that took three lives
Conventional troops may have completed four or five deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan but Special Operations troops such as Domeij are more likely to have have served 10-12. Even by those higher standards, his record of 14 tours was a rare feat.
Domeij had a combined total of 48 months deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan alone, Tracy Bailey, a spokesperson for the 75th Ranger Regiment.
All told, he is likely to have spent close to four years serving in war zones.
DECORATED HERO: HIS MEDALS
Purple Heart // 3 x Bronze Star
3 x Iraq Campaign Medal // 2 x Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Meritorious Service Medal // Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Joint Commendation Medal // National Defense Service Medal Overseas Service Ribbon (N4)
Army Commendation Medal // Army Achievement Medal
Army Good Conduct medal
Pathfinder Badge
Ranger Tab
OTHER BADGES:
Expert Rifle Marksmanship Badge
Combat Action Badge
He was lauded by said Colonel Mark W. Odom, commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment who said: 'Sgt. Domeij was the prototypical special operations NCO... veteran of a decade of deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan and hundreds of combat missions.
'His ability to employ fire support platforms made him a game changer on the battlefield — an operator who in real terms had the value of an entire strike force on the battlefield.'
He was also remembered by 75th Ranger Regiment's Lt. Col. David Hodne as 'one of those men who was known by all as much for his humour, enthusiasm, and loyal friendship, as he was for his unparallelled skill and bravery under fire.
'He is irreplaceable in our formation and in our hearts.'
Sgt. Domeij enlisted in July 2001 and joined the 75th Ranger Regiment in April 2002.
He was husband to Sarah and father to daughters Mikajsa and Aaliyah. He is also survived by his mother Scoti and brother Kyle.
He will also be posthumously awarded another Bronze Star to bring his collection to three and Meritorious Service medals.
The U.S. Army was unable to provide explanations for how he won his haul, give a reason for the Purple Heart award or detail the 14 deployments he had undertaken.
The combat operation in which he died, support of Operation Enduring Freedom, also claimed the lives of Private 1st Class Christopher A. Horns, 20, and Lieutenant Ashley White, 24.
The death of White, from Ohio, has forced the U.S. Army to defend the position of female soldiers on the front line in Afghanistan - where more than 1,700 members of the military have lost their lives.
The lieutenant was the first casualty of the decision to bring in women to do things that would be awkward or impossible for her male colleagues, such as frisking burka-clad women or simply gaining their trust.
But her death in Kandahar underscores the risks of placing women with elite U.S. special operations teams working in remote villages.
Military leaders and other female soldiers in the programme say its rewards are great, even as it fuels debate over the roles of women in combat.
'We could do things that the males cannot do, and they are starting to realise that,' says Sgt. Christine Baldwin, who like White was among the first groups of women deployed to Afghanistan this year as specially trained 'cultural support' troops.
Male soldiers often cannot even speak to an Afghan woman because of the strict cultural norms that separate the sexes and the tradition of women remaining behind closed doors most of the time.
Forcing the issue has yielded only resentment, military officials say, and has jeopardized the trust and cooperation of villagers.
From the start of the war 10 years ago, Afghans have especially resented the practice of 'night raids' in which male foreign soldiers enter and search homes, the traditional sanctum of women.
'We could search the female, find out the other half of the information,' Baldwin said in an interview. 'If you're missing half of the lay of the land, how effective are you in engaging the populace?'
That question was eight years in the making. It arose from the frustration of U.S. commanders who realised two years ago that as they tried to apply the principles of counterinsurgency - protect civilians and enlist them to reject insurgents and provide intelligence - they weren't reaching the majority of the Afghan population.
Now, the first female soldiers are serving in commando units. They are trained to ferret out critical information not available to their male team members, to identify insurgents disguised as women and figure out when Afghan women are being used to hide weapons.
U.S. women have been on the front lines in Afghanistan since the war began, and over time they have been used to reach out to the Afghan population through health care initiatives and other programs.
They have traveled with Army soldiers and Marines throughout the warfront, often to assist in development projects or as part of psychological operations - what are now called MISO, or military information support operations.
But as elite special operations teams fanned out across the country doing counterinsurgency 'stability operations' in the small villages, they complained to their superiors that they weren't reaching the women and children who make up as much as 71 per cent of the population.
`We waited too long to get to this,' says Command Sgt. Maj. Ledford Stigall.
'We had a lot of people focused on the kill and capture, and it really took someone to say, hey it's not about kill, capture, it's about developing a country that can take care of itself.'
'Women have a voice,' he said. 'They can influence the men in their society.'
It was in 2009, under pressure from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, then the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Gen. David Petraeus, then the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, that the Army began to develop Cultural Support Teams.
Last November, the first group of women went through a grueling five-day assessment that tested their physical and military skills, their problem-solving and writing abilities and their psychological and mental fitness. Those that passed moved on to a six-week training programme.
And in January, the first group of 28 women deployed to Afghanistan with Army Rangers and Special Forces teams.
They went in two-woman teams as part of larger special operations units - usually numbering about a dozen.
And they were designed to go out on patrols and into the villages with the special operators to help build relations with the communities by engaging with the Afghan women.
In the process, they could also glean valuable intelligence about the people in the region, information they might not be able to get from the men.
Capt. Adrienne Bryant was in the first group that deployed.
Down in Helmand Province with a team of Marine special operations forces, Bryant said, the initial response from the population was tepid.
But on her first patrol, the team introduced her and her CST teammate to a village elder.
'He had been constantly abused by the Taliban, had been kidnapped and returned and he didn't want to work with coalition forces anymore because of the fear the Taliban was going to retaliate,' said Bryant, in an interview.
Bryant and her teammate talked to him about what they could do for the women of his village, including the medical assistance and the skills training - like sewing - they could bring. And he was interested.
'Helmand was a pretty conservative area, women aren't really seen out much, they don't shop. So we had to disguise our sewing program, we ran it in conjunction with our clinic,' said Bryant, who is from Virginia.
