A few details are now emerging concerning the death of a Jamaican serving in the American military in Kuwait last Tuesday.
The New York Daily News is reporting that Sergeant Hughton Brown, 43, was on his second deployment when he died on Nov 14 at Camp Buehring, a base along the Iraq border.
The newspaper said the Defense Department did not disclose the circumstances of Brown’s death, only saying the incident was under investigation.
But his family in Jamaica had previously disclosed that the military told them he collapsed and died during a two-mile jog with colleagues.
Brown arrived in Kuwait in August as a maintenance supervisor in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan.
“We express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Sergeant 1st Class Hughton Oneil Brown,” Army Reserve Command said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn the loss of a loved one. We’ve lost a valuable member of our team and he will be sorely missed,” the statement added.
Sergeant Brown was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 306th Engineer Company, 411th Engineer Brigade based out of in Farmingdale, L.I.
He joined the Army in August 1997 and was deployed to Iraq in November 2002 on an eight-month tour.
He attended Wolmer’s Boys’ School in Jamaica before migrating to the United States.
“A role model and a mentor for many soldiers, even for those not in his beloved maintenance team, he was sought out for his wisdom and knowledge,” said Capt. John Hasselius, the commander of the 306th Engineer Company.
