Watkins, Glenn James

Glenn James Watkins was a 42-year-old corporal in the U.S. Army from Carlsbad, California. He was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, part of the 81st Infantry Brigade (Heavy) of the Washington Army National Guard, based in Kent, Washington. The battalion deployed to Iraq in early 2005.

On April 5, 2005, Corporal Watkins was killed in Baghdad. According to the Department of Defense, he died from wounds sustained when his patrol was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED). The attack occurred in the Iraqi capital, a center of insurgent activity at the time.

Watkins died during Operation Iraqi Freedom, a conflict that began with a U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. The stated initial justification for the invasion was the belief that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, a claim later discredited. The war evolved into a protracted counterinsurgency and sectarian conflict following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government.

His death was reported by the Department of Defense and noted in local media in both California and Washington state. The 81st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, his unit, suffered multiple casualties during its 2005 deployment.

Corporal Watkins is listed on the Iraq War Memorial in Olympia, Washington, and is remembered among the more than 4,400 U.S. service members who died during the war. His name is also recorded on the online memorial of the National Infantry Museum.

Glenn James Watkins was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–2010). The conflict concluded in August 2010. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Kennedy, Brian Matthew, Beaupre, Ryan Anthony, Gutierrez, Jose, Waters-bey, Kendall Damon.

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