Another soldier from a hard-hit Fort Lewis infantry battalion has died in Iraq.
Spc. David L. Watson, 29, of Tuckerman, Ark., died in Baqouba onSaturday of wounds he suffered in a noncombat related accident, according to a Department of Defense announcement Monday.
Watson was assigned to the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which deployed from Fort Lewis in April and has seen 27 soldiers die in Iraq. Its sister brigade, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, came home to Fort Lewis this month.
Watson is the fifth soldier from the brigade reported killed in the last week alone.
All were members of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Tomahawks.
A sixth soldier, Cpl. Graham McMahon, died Sept. 19 of an undisclosed illness that was not related to combat, officials said. He was assigned to another of 4th Brigade’s infantry battalions.
The Defense Department said the circumstances surrounding Watson’s death are under investigation.
According to unit records, Watson initially entered military service in early 1997.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in 2002 and began his current term of active service in September 2005, Fort Lewis officials said.
A combat medic, he was trained at Fort Sam Houston and then reported to Fort Lewis in June 2006.
Watson is the third soldier from 4th Brigade to die from a noncombat-related cause this month.
Such deaths are on the rise across the U.S. forces in Iraq.
So far in September, 22 of the reported 57 U.S. military deaths have been due to noncombat-related causes, or 38.6 percent, according to the Web site iCasualties.org, which tracks all casualties in the war.
In August, 28 of 84 U.S. deaths, or 33.3 percent, were due to noncombat causes.
Since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, 18.2 percent of the 3,799 U.S. deaths have been attributed to noncombat causes.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.