Middle East
DOD identifies soldier who died in Afghanistan
Stars and Stripes
May 26, 2015
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Department of Defense on Tuesday identified a soldier who died at a base in Afghanistan in a noncombat incident over the weekend.
Sgt. 1st Class Pablo A. Ruiz, 37, of Melbourne, Fla., was found dead at Bagram Air Field north of Kabul on Sunday. The cause of death was not released, and American military officials in Afghanistan referred further questions to the U.S. Army Special Forces Command. Ruiz was assigned to Group Support Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.
While the death was not related to combat, it came just a day before Americans honored fallen servicemembers on Memorial Day and provides a reminder that nearly 10,000 American troops remain stationed in Afghanistan.
According to the Fayetteville Observer, Ruiz was in charge of a dining facility at the base.
A spokeswoman for 1st Special Forces Command told the Observer that the circumstaces of the soldier’s death are under investigation.
Ruiz enlisted in the Army in 2003 as a cook and deployed three times as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Observer reported.