Staff Sergeant Joshua M. Mills was born on November 1, 1984, and grew up in El Paso, Texas. As a boy he dreamed of two careers. “He wanted to be a paleontologist,” his older brother, Quent, remembered. “He loved dinosaurs.” But he also wanted to be a Green Beret. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Tommy, an air defense soldier at Fort Bliss, and graduated from Silva Magnet High School, where he was a member of Junior ROTC and the rifle team.
Josh enlisted in the Army in 2005 as a Special Forces candidate under the program that allowed civilians to train directly for the Green Beret. He completed the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a Special Forces communications sergeant on Operational Detachment Alpha 7311. His military education also includes the Basic Airborne Course, the Primary Leadership Development Course, the Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, the Air Movement Operations Course and the Special Forces Sniper Course.
Family meant everything to Josh. Despite training and deployments, he almost always made it home for Christmas, and he loved to surprise his family. “He’d come into town, but he wouldn’t tell you,” Quent said. “He would just show up on your doorstep.”
In August 2009 Josh deployed to Afghanistan with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–Afghanistan, his team’s third deployment there. On the evening of September 15, 2009, as ODA 7311 returned from a successful mission, an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle during a mounted patrol. Josh died of his wounds the next day. He was 24 years old. Two teammates, Sergeants First Class Bradley Bohle and Shawn McCloskey, were also killed.
Josh was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the NATO Medal. He is survived by his wife, Magen; his son, Malaki; his mother, Celeste; his father, Tommy; and his brothers, Quent and Travis.
During the team's third deployment to Afghanistan, as they returned from a successful mission, ODA 7311 was ambushed by an enemy improvised explosive device (IED). SSG Mills died of wounds suffered.
7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Sources
- Military Times Honor the Fallen: Army Staff Sgt. Joshua M. Mills
- Green Beret Foundation: Joshua M. Mills
- ARSOF History: Joshua M. Mills
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Joshua Mills (USASOC release text)
