Staff Sergeant Christopher Matthew Falkel was born on September 24, 1982, in Boston, Massachusetts. His family lived in Athens, Ohio, from 1984 until 1990, when they moved to Littleton, Colorado. Chris attended Northridge Elementary School and Cresthill Middle School and graduated from ThunderRidge High School in 2001. His family made its home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
Only weeks after the attacks of September 11, on October 25, 2001, Chris enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman. He had one ultimate goal: to become a Special Forces soldier. He completed Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, graduating in March 2002, and then earned his jump wings at Airborne School. Assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he was a member of the fourth class of the Special Operations Preparatory Course. He completed Special Forces Assessment and Selection in June 2002 and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course on May 21, 2003.
After finishing the Special Forces Arabic language course and SERE training, Chris was assigned as a weapons sergeant (18B) to Operational Detachment Alpha 316, Company A, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne). He was promoted to staff sergeant on November 1, 2004. His Special Forces schooling included the Blackwater Combat Marksmanship Course, the Gryphon Group Force Protection Course, the Mid-South Self Defense Institute and the Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis and Exploitation Techniques Course. His favorite, and the one of which he was most proud, was the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course.
His first overseas deployment took him to Gereshk, Afghanistan, from February to July 2004 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In June 2005 he deployed to Afghanistan again with his team.
On August 7 and 8, 2005, ODA 316 and its Afghan National Army partners fought a running battle against a numerically superior, well-trained enemy in the valleys of southern Afghanistan, an action his family remembers as the Battle of Mari Ghar. Chris manned the .50-caliber machine gun on the last vehicle in the element. According to the narrative for his Silver Star, he helped break five separate enemy ambushes, repeatedly exposing himself to heavy fire so that pinned-down teammates and Afghan soldiers could reach cover. When intercepted enemy communications revealed that the insurgents were targeting his vehicle, he still insisted that the team press forward. During the fifth engagement, as he turned his gun on the positions that had the lead element pinned down, he was struck and killed by a single shot. His family records that he gave his life during the fifth of seven contacts in a 54-hour battle while saving the lives of his ten teammates and the sixteen Afghan soldiers assigned to his team. He was 22 years old.
Chris was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal. His other decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces Tab.
He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on August 22, 2005, and his name is honored on the Highlands Ranch Veterans Monument in Colorado. He is survived by his parents, Jeffery and Dianne Falkel, and his brother, Tim.
Chris enlisted in the Army right after 9/11 with one ultimate goal: to become a Special Forces Green Beret. He gave his life protecting his brothers in Kandahar.
3rd Special Forces Group (A) Tribute
Sources
- Highlands Ranch Veterans Monument: Christopher M. Falkel
- Military Times Hall of Valor: Silver Star citation and narrative, Christopher M. Falkel
- Green Beret Foundation memorial: Christopher M. Falkel
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: 2024 stage bios (family biography)
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: 2024 matchbook and honoree website bio sheet
