--- title: "DoD identifies soldier who died in non-combat incident in Iraq" description: "Sgt. Christopher Wesley Curry, 23 was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division." date: "2020-05-05" modified: "2020-05-05" authors: - name: "David Roza" job_title: "YouTube Writer/Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/david-roza/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/pentagon-identifies-soldier-killed-non-combat-incident-iraq/" categories: - "Army" - "Around the World" - "Iraq" - "Military Branches" - "News" tags: - "central command" --- # DoD identifies soldier who died in non-combat incident in Iraq ![]() The Pentagon identified a soldier who died in a non-combat related incident in Erbil, Iraq on Monday. Sgt. Christopher Wesley Curry, 23, from Terre Haute, Indiana, was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, the Pentagon said in a press release on Tuesday. The cause of death remains under investigation, but COVID-19 "is not suspected,” according to a Monday [news release]() from Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led mission in Iraq and Syria. No further information about how the service member died was immediately available, the news release said. In a separate release from Fort Wainwright, Lt. Col. Jimmy Howell, commander of Curry's battalion, spoke of the fallen soldier with pride. “Sgt. Curry joined Charlie Company in April 2019 and immediately became a part of our Army family," Howell said, adding that Curry's "technical expertise" helped the unit in its deployment and transition into theater. “Sgt. Curry's incessant optimism was the hallmark of his personality, and often provided respite for others during times of stress," Howell continued. “His honesty, light heartedness, and wit will always be remembered by his brothers in arms. His loss is being felt immensely by Charlie Company, 3-21 Infantry, and the 1/25th SBCT. It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to one of our own." ## Author David Roza writes scripts about military news for the Task & Purpose YouTube channel, and he also writes articles about military pay, benefits, health care, child care, culture, and other personnel topics on a freelance basis. Roza previously covered the Air Force and Space Force for Task & Purpose from 2019 to 2023 and for Air & Space Forces Magazine from 2023 to 2025. In the course of that reporting, he has set off a ‘Hollywood explosion’ with Air Force bomb techs, turned the (unarmed) keys of a nuclear missile bunker, hovered over the Nevada desert on an Air Force rescue helicopter, and got the best sleep of his life on the floor of a C-17 over the central Pacific. Share tips and story ideas with David at [david.roza@teamrecurrent.io]()