Wheeler, Joshua Lloyd

Also known as: MSG, HQ, USASOC, FORT BRAGG, NC

Combatant

Male Verified

DiedOctober 22, 2015

Age39 years old

Location of DeathHAWIJAH, IRAQ

Cause of DeathSmall arms fire during a hostage rescue mission

Conflict Operation Inherent Resolve

Master Sergeant Joshua Lloyd Wheeler, 39, of Roland, Oklahoma, was a U.S. Army soldier serving with U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He was killed during a hostage rescue mission in Hawijah, Iraq, on October 22, 2015.

Their Story

Joshua Lloyd Wheeler was a Master Sergeant in the United States Army. He was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and had served multiple combat deployments over a career spanning nearly two decades.

On October 22, 2015, Wheeler was part of a joint U.S.-Kurdish commando raid on an ISIS-run prison compound near Hawijah, Iraq. The operation, launched from Kurdish-held territory, aimed to rescue approximately 70 hostages facing imminent execution. According to U.S. military officials, Wheeler was mortally wounded by small arms fire during the initial assault on the facility. He was the first American service member killed in action in Iraq since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Operation Inherent Resolve was the U.S.-led coalition's military intervention against the Islamic State (ISIS), which began in August 2014 after the group seized large portions of Iraq and Syria. The mission's stated objectives were to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIS through airstrikes and support for local ground forces, including Iraqi and Kurdish troops.

Wheeler's death was announced by the U.S. Department of Defense. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter stated Wheeler had run to the sound of gunfire to aid Kurdish forces during the assault. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with Valor device. His body was returned to the United States in a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base.

Wheeler was remembered by colleagues as a highly experienced and decorated special operations soldier. The raid he participated in successfully freed the hostages. His death highlighted the continued direct combat role of U.S. special operations forces in the conflict against ISIS, even as the Obama administration emphasized a strategy of advising and assisting local partners.