A Fort Drum soldier died Monday in Bagram, Afghanistan. Specialist Kyle Gilbert of Buford Georgia was 24.
This is the first death of a Fort Drum soldier in this latest cycle of deployments. Combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan came to a close at the end of last year. This summer, Fort Drum soldiers began deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan this time to train and advise Afghan and Iraqi forces.
Gilbert died of a non-combat related injury. The Department of Defense says they're investigating the incident that led to his injury.
In a press release, Fort Drum officials say Gilbert joined the Army in April of 2013 as an infantryman. He arrived at Fort Drum a few months later. This June, he deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat team to Afghanistan.
Gilbert is the recipient of several awards for this service. He is survived by his mother, father, step-mother and brother.
Lt. Col. Michael Kovacevic, says Gilbert's family is in the battalion's continued thoughts and prayers.