The Pentagon announced Sunday that an Army National Guard officer who also served as a New York City policeman died on March 6 following a non-combat incident.
Maj. Sorffly Davius, 46, of Queens, New York, passed away at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, according to a Defense Department release.
Davius was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 42nd Infantry Division out of Troy, New York, the release added.
The incident is currently under investigation.
In a post the day prior to the Pentagon’s announcement, the New York City Police Department stated Davius died following a “medical episode while deployed to Kuwait.”
Davius was deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield, according to the Pentagon, a years-long U.S. Central Command-led mission to deter potential adversaries throughout the region. The NYPD post on Saturday, meanwhile, said Davius was supporting Operation Epic Fury at the time of his death.
“In 2014, he began his service with the NYPD where he was assigned to the 79th Precinct,” the police department release said. “Today, and always, we keep his family in our thoughts and prayers. May we never forget Officer Davius’ sacrifice and may his memory be a blessing.”
U.S. Central Command on Sunday also announced that a service member who had been seriously injured on March 1 during an Iranian attack on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia succumbed to their wounds Saturday.
The individual, who has yet to be identified, is the seventh service member to be killed in action amid ongoing combat operations against the Islamic Republic.
The bodies of the other six soldiers, who were killed on March 1 by an Iranian drone attack on Port Shuabia, Kuwait, returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday as President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials attended the dignified transfer.
The six soldiers have been identified as Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California.
An additional 18 troops have been wounded during Operation Epic Fury, according to CENTCOM.
J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
