Gailey, Christopher Drew

Christopher Drew Gailey was a 26-year-old sergeant from Ochelata, Oklahoma. He served with Company F, 700th Brigade Support Battalion, part of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, based in Tulsa.

According to U.S. Department of Defense casualty reports, Sgt. Gailey died on November 1, 2011, in Lajahahmadkhel, a village in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province. The official cause was listed as hostile fire. A contemporaneous report from the Tulsa World newspaper stated he was killed by small arms fire during a dismounted patrol.

Gailey's death occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. His unit was deployed as part of a surge of forces in the later years of the conflict, which focused on counterinsurgency operations in volatile eastern provinces like Paktia.

His death was reported by multiple Oklahoma news outlets. The 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team confirmed the loss, and the Oklahoma National Guard posted a tribute on its official Facebook page. Fellow soldiers remembered him as a dedicated and professional non-commissioned officer.

Sgt. Gailey is memorialized on the Oklahoma Military Memorial in Oklahoma City. His name is also inscribed on the Afghanistan War Memorial at the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City, which honors Oklahomans who died in the conflict.

Sgt. Gailey was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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