Hart, Casey James

Also known as: 1SG, COMPANY B, 2ND BATTALION, 156TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, 256 INFANTRY BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM, NEW IBERIA, LA

Combatant

Male Verified

DiedJune 8, 2021

Age42 years old

Location of DeathBETHESDA, UNITED STATES

Cause of DeathWounds sustained from an accidental weapons discharge during a training exercise in Erbil, Iraq, on May 23, 2021.

Conflict Operation Inherent Resolve

First Sergeant Casey James Hart, 42, of Metairie, Louisiana, was a U.S. Army National Guard soldier. He died on June 8, 2021, in Bethesda, Maryland, from wounds sustained in Iraq.

Their Story

First Sergeant Casey James Hart served with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, part of the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Louisiana Army National Guard, based in New Iberia. A resident of Metairie, Louisiana, he was 42 years old at the time of his death.

Hart died on June 8, 2021, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. According to a U.S. Department of Defense casualty announcement, he died from wounds sustained on May 23, 2021, in a non-combat incident in Erbil, Iraq. The incident was reportedly caused by an accidental weapons discharge from a fellow soldier during a training exercise.

Hart was deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), the U.S.-led coalition mission against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria. By 2021, following the territorial defeat of the ISIS caliphate in 2019, the mission's primary focus had shifted to advising, assisting, and enabling Iraqi partner forces, while conducting targeted counter-terrorism operations against a persistent ISIS insurgency.

The Louisiana National Guard confirmed Hart's death and expressed condolences to his family and fellow soldiers. He was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. His death was noted in local and military news reports, which highlighted his service and the circumstances of the incident.

First Sergeant Hart is remembered by his unit and community as a dedicated soldier and leader. His name is inscribed on the Louisiana Veterans Memorial Wall in Baton Rouge, and he is memorialized in the online archives of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Iraq War Casualties database.