Retired Col. David Brostrom, whose son, Jonathan, was killed at a remote outpost in Afghanistan, said yesterday that he and his wife are awaiting more details about how he died.

While company commanders have provided some information about Sunday's attack on 1st Lt. Jonathan Brostrom's remote outpost, which took the lives of nine American soldiers, the family has not received any official information, he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military has launched an investigation into whether Jonathan Brostrom, of 'Aiea, and his fellow soldiers were given access to intelligence about a possible attack by Taliban forces, CNN reported yesterday, quoting several unidentified military officials.

About 200 Taliban insurgents participated in the attack, described by CNN as the deadliest in Afghanistan in three years

Jonathan Brostrom, 24, was among a platoon of soldiers building a new fire base camp about 200 yards from Wanat village in Kunar Province, a place that was relatively peaceful at the time, said his father, a 30-year Army veteran.

The camp, which was a little more than six miles closer to the battalion's main base, was still in its early stages of construction, he said.

"All the defenses that they normally would have that would have prevented this attack were not up yet," said David Brostrom, who spoke to reporters yesterday from his home.

Brostrom said his son knew that he and his soldiers were vulnerable to an assault.

"They knew that they were going to be probed or attacked, but they didn't know that it was going to be at such a magnitude," he said.

During his time there, Jonathan Brostrom kept many details about the situation in Afghanistan to himself, his father said.

"He didn't want to upset us, especially his mother," he said.

Nevertheless, Jonathan Brostrom had voiced concerns about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan during an 18-day visit home over Mother's Day.

"We had discussions about what's going on and the growing threats there and that's when I started worrying about him," his father said. "You could tell the day he left that he was very concerned."

Despite being aware of the high risks involved, Jonathan Brostrom was excited to serve his country and loved his job, his parents said.

"Even with all the stress of the war and what he's seen, he still wanted to pursue the most difficult jobs," David Brostrom said. "Jon loved his soldiers and his soldiers loved him."

David and his wife, Mary Jo, hope that their son's death will call attention to the growing violence in Afghanistan and the need to revisit U.S. military strategy there.

The soldiers "are fighting in a situation that they just don't have enough troops on the ground and enough resources. It's been like this for a long time," David Brostrom said.

"If Jonathan can be the catalyst for changing our strategy in Afghanistan, then I'm all for it," said Brostrom, who supports an increase in U.S. forces in Afghanistan.