Roberts, Marshal Dakota

Marshal Dakota Roberts was a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, assigned to the 219th Engineering Installation Squadron, a unit of the Oklahoma Air National Guard based at Tulsa International Airport. He was from Claremore, Oklahoma, and was 28 years old at the time of his deployment to Iraq.

On March 11, 2020, Roberts was killed in a rocket attack on Camp Taji, a large Iraqi military base north of Baghdad that also housed U.S.-led coalition personnel. The attack, which involved over a dozen rockets, reportedly killed two American service members and one British soldier, and wounded several others. The U.S. Department of Defense stated his death was the result of hostile action.

Roberts died during Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led military intervention launched in August 2014 to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The mission involved a coalition of nations supporting Iraqi security forces with airstrikes, training, and advisory roles. By 2020, ISIS had lost its territorial control but continued to carry out insurgent attacks, including indirect fire on coalition bases.

Following the attack, U.S. forces conducted airstrikes against five weapons storage facilities used by Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Iraqi militia that U.S. officials stated was responsible for the rocket barrage. Roberts's body was returned to the United States, and he was posthumously promoted from Staff Sergeant to Technical Sergeant.

Roberts was remembered by his unit and community for his technical skill as an engineering installation craftsman. His name is inscribed on the Oklahoma Veterans Memorial.

Marshal Dakota Roberts was killed during Operation Inherent Resolve (ongoing since 2014). See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Villotcarrasco, Yeshabel, Spears, Jordan Lee, Walker, Jonathan Doyle, Neal, Sean Patrick.

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