Rhode Island National Guard Suffers
Its Fourth Fatality in Iraq
5 October 2004
RHODE ISLAND NATIONAL GUARD
Joint Force Headquarters
Command Readiness Center
645 New London Avenue
CRANSTON - - Major General Reginald A. Centracchio, the
Adjutant General of Rhode Island, announced today, with much
regret and sorrow, that Sergeant Christopher Potts, from
Tiverton, RI, was killed in action on 3 October 2004. Sergeant
Potts, a member of A Battery, 1 st Battalion, 103d Field
Artillery, was killed when his unit, manning a traffic control
point in Taji, Iraq, came under enemy small-arms fire from
insurgents.
Sergeant Potts, who joined the Rhode Island National Guard
in September 1990, leaves behind his wife Terri and two children,
Christopher Jr. and Jackson. “Our hearts and prayers
are with the Potts’ family during this most difficult
time,” stated MG Centracchio. “This is a dark
period for not only the Rhode Island National Guard, but
the entire state.”
Alpha Battery, 1 st Battalion, 103d Field Artillery departed
Rhode Island on 5 January 2004 and moved to Fort Hood, TX,
where they underwent additional training and certification
for deployment overseas. The unit arrived in Iraq in early
March 2004. They have been operating in Taji, Iraq, as part
of the 39 th Brigade Combat Team attached to the 1 st Cavalry
Division. Currently, the Rhode Island National Guard has over
470 troops on active duty with 275 of them serving in Iraq. |
