The US is investigating the death of Chief Warrant Officer James Wilke, 38, who died in Qatar on Oct. 10, Army officials have announced.

Wilke, who hails from California, had been deployed to the US base in Qatar since January, and was a Patriot weapons system technician working on “Operation New Dawn,” the Obama administration’s name for “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” 

The Department of Defense classified Wilke’s passing as a “non-combatant death” and is looking into the matter.

“We don’t know for sure what happened,” Wilke’s wife, Monia, told the El Paso Times.

Wilke was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Fort Bliss, Texas.

Image courtesy of Fort Bliss.