Major from Plymouth among 6 victims of Afghanistan attack

Published 9:31 am Wednesday, December 23, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS — A 36-year-old from suburban Minneapolis was among the six American troops killed in a suicide attack near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

The United States Department of Defense on Tuesday released the identities of the troops killed in the attack. Among them was Maj. Adrianna M. Vorderbruggen of Plymouth.

Vorderbruggen was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 9th Field Investigations Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

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Her father, Joseph Vorderbruggen, told The Associated Press his daughter “loved life” and “loved the military.”

“Whatever goal she had, she found a way,” he said.

Officials said the soldiers were targeted as they moved through a village near Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military facility in Afghanistan.

The attack was the deadliest single attack on American troops in the country since 2013.

The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Military Partners and Families Coalition, a group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender military families, issued a statement Tuesday mourning Vorderbruggen’s death and praising the legacy she left behind.

According to the press release, Vorderbruggen, her wife and their son had been a part of the group “nearly from its start” and took “great pride in being members of the military community.”

Vorderbruggen “lived for her family and for her country,” the statement said. “She was one of the most friendly and laid-back people you could ever hope to meet and was an accomplished airman, a great athlete, and most of all, a wonderful mom. She leaves an indelible legacy of strength and selflessness to all those touched by her life.”