A British service member supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in the fight against ISIS died Wednesday in what appears to be a non-combat incident, U.S. officials said in a statement earlier this week.
Capt. Dean Sprouting of the Adjutant General’s Corps at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, died on Jan. 31, the U.K. Ministry of Defence announced Friday.
He was serving with Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. The incident is currently under investigation, but Dean’s death was not the result of enemy activity, according to the MoD.
Officials with Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve provided no further details.
U.S. officials did not disclose the soldier’s identity until the appropriate national authorities had been notified. Army Col. Ryan Dillon, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman, relayed the MoD’s announcement through Twitter.
“It is hard to do justice to a man such as Dean Sprouting with simple words,” Sprouting’s commanding officer, Lt Col Rob Hedderwick, said.
“Dean was simply one of those people whose infectious humour and enthusiasm drew others to him. His professional knowledge was second to none and his sage advice already something I had come to rely on,” Hedderwick said.
“His loss is keenly felt by us all and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and children whom I know he cherished more than anything else in this world,” he added. “I am hugely proud and thankful to have known him. He was a very good man.”
Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.
