Tenn. guardsmen killed in Iraq helo crash - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Tenn. guardsmen killed in Iraq helo crash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Military officials say two Tennessee Army National Guard pilots died Sunday in a helicopter crash in northern Iraq.

Maj. Gen. Max Haston, Tennessee’s adjutant general, said in a news release Tuesday that Capt. Marcus Ray Alford of Knoxville and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Billie Jean Grinder of Gallatin were killed.

The military said there were no enemy forces involved in the crash near Qayyarah Airfield West (Q-West), about 30 miles south of Mosul, and no hostile fire reported.

The crash is under investigation.

The soldiers were assigned to Troop C, 1/230th Air Cavalry from Louisville, Blount County.