The Pentagon said three Kaneohe Bay Marines were killed yesterday in southern Afghanistan, a day after a Kaneohe Bay sailor also died in combat in the same region.

The Marines killed yesterday in Farah province were: Lance Cpl. James D. Argentine, 22, of Farmingdale, N.Y.; Lance Cpl. Travis T. Babine, 20, of San Antonio, Texas; and Sgt. Jay M. Hoskins, 24, of Paris, Texas.
Officials said the three were killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their vehicle.
The Pentagon said the Marines died “while supporting combat operations.”
The three riflemen were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay.
About 1,000 Hawaii Marines with the 2nd Battalion arrived in Helmand and Farah provinces in late May, part of a surge of 21,000 additional U.S. troops ordered by President Obama into an increasingly restive Afghanistan.
The Marines are expected to be in the country seven months.
A Hawaii-based sailor serving as a corpsman with the Marines died Wednesday in Farah Province, the Pentagon had announced yesterday.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony C. Garcia, 21, of Panama City, Fla., also died “while supporting combat operations,” the Pentagon had said. Navy corpsmen are assigned to Marine units and have jobs similar to those of an Army medic.
At least six members of the 2nd Battalion now have been killed in southern Afghanistan in about three months time.
The Pentagon’s statement that the Marines and sailor died “while supporting combat operations” is more ambiguous than in the past and a Pentagon departure from years of standard practice in which the cause of death — whether a roadside bomb, gunshot, indirect fire attack or other means — was reported to the public.
Hoskins joined the Marines in August 2003 and reported to Hawaii in January. His awards include the Purple Heart Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, Navy Unit Commendation, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, two Afghanistan Campaign Medals, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons.
Argentine joined the Marines in October of 2006 and reported to Hawaii in January 2007. He previously deployed with the 2nd Battalion from January to August 2008.
His awards include the Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Babine joined the Marine Corps in June of 2007 and reported to Hawaii in August in 2008. His awards include a Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment ribbon.
The Pentagon also reported the death yesterday of Marine Cpl. Christian A. Guzman Rivera, 21, of Homestead, Fla., in Farah province. Guzman Rivera was assigned to the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.