Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Farmer

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Robert Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida, served with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was killed on January 16, 2019, when an Islamic State suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest during a key-leader engagement in Manbij, Syria.

CW2 Farmer graduated from Bowdoin College in 2003 with a degree in history and captained its men’s basketball team. He joined the Army in 2005, attended One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia followed by the Special Forces Qualification Course. He graduated as a Special Forces Engineer Sergeant and was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group, where he spent the entirety of his career. Commissioned as a warrant officer in 2016, he served as an assistant detachment commander and completed six combat tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

College roommate Michael Harding remembered CW2 Farmer as a “loyal and selfless friend.” He was known for mentoring younger soldiers, welcoming lonely service members into his home during holidays and maintaining close relationships despite his demanding deployments.

CW2 Farmer was survived by his wife and four children.