The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has identified the soldier who died in the crash of MH-60 Black Hawk special operations helicopter, in Iraq on Aug. 19.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Taylor J. Galvin, 34, from Spokane, Washington, died Aug. 20, 2018, in Baghdad, Iraq, as a result of injuries sustained when his helicopter crashed in Sinjar, Ninevah Province, Iraq. Galvin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

The helicopter was conducting a partnered counter-terrorism mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) when it crashed. OIR is the U.S. military’s operational name for the military intervention against the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria.

The statement from the DOD added that the incident is under investigation.

Newsweek magazine reported that the helicopter was returning to base after conducting a small-scale raid in an undisclosed region and there were ten U.S. military personnel onboard the aircraft.

The MH-60 helicopter involved in the crash belonged to the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (10th SOAR), called the “Night Stalkers”, which provide helicopter aviation support for general purpose forces and special operations forces (SOF).

MH-60M Black Hawk is the highly specialized special operations variant of U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk military helicopter. They are flown exclusively by the 160th SOAR, which uses MH-60Ms for medium assault (special forces infiltration and exfiltration) and medium attack (armed escort and close air support) missions.

This marked the second crash of a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq in the last five months. On March 15, a U.S. Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter has crashed after striking a power line near the city of Al Qaim in western Iraq’s Anbar Province near the country’s border with Syria, killing all seven service members onboard.





