Remembering CTR1 (EXW) Michael J. Strange, USN, KIA Afghanistan

As a young man, Michael attended the local parochial school and played football and baseball for the local youth organizations. Summers were spent crabbing and fishing with his family on Delaware’s eastern shore. By his senior year at North Catholic High, he had made the decision to join the service and two months after graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

After basic training Michael was sent to the Center for Information Dominance in Pensacola, Florida, and in April 2005, he reported to the Navy Information Operations Command in Kunia, Hawaii. In May of 2009 he joined an East Coast-based SEAL team in a support role. Navy Seal teams are known for achieving the impossible by using a unique combination of courage, competency and physical stamina to accomplish their missions. However, in addition to being competent in the combat skills needed to survive on the battlefield, these intrepid warriors also require timely critical information in order to achieve success. It was in this area that Petty Officer Strange’s skills and talents were applied. As a cryptologic technician, it was his job to provide and protect indispensable intelligence, intelligence that had the capacity to not only allow his team to achieve its mission, but to also save lives.