DOD Identifies Army, Air Force Casualties
March 13, 2020

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two service members who were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. Both service members died March 11, 2020, when their units were engaged by enemy indirect fire at Camp Taji, Iraq. The incident is under investigation.

The deceased are:

— Army Spc.* Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias, 27, of Hanford, California.

— Air Force Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts, 28, of Owasso, Oklahoma.

Mendez Covarrubias was assigned to 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Roberts was assigned to the 219th Engineering Installation Squadron, Oklahoma Air National Guard.

For more information regarding Spc. Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias, media may contact Fort Hood Public Affairs office at 254-287-9993/0106 or [email protected].

For more information regarding Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts, media may contact the Oklahoma National Guard Public Affairs office at 405-228-5212.

*Indicates posthumous promotion