Soldier seriously injured by drone attack in Iraq returning to the US for further treatment
By Haley Britzky, CNN
(CNN) — The US soldier who was critically injured in a drone attack on Christmas Day will be transferred to the US for further treatment, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Garrett Illerbrunn from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade was transferred to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center after he was critically injured on December 25.
According to 82nd Airborne Division spokesman Lt. Col. Anthony Clas, Illerbrunn is an aviation standardization pilot, which is an Army pilot that oversees curriculum for instructor pilots. He has been assigned to the aviation brigade since September 2021.
“Our thoughts remain with his family, friends, and the unit,” Clas said. Defense Department spokesman Maj. Pete Nguyen said there are plans underway to send Illerbrunn to Walter Reed National Medical Center in Maryland for further treatment.
Illerbrunn was seriously injured when a one-way attack drone hit Erbil Airbase, Iraq. It was one of at least 118 attacks that have been launched against US and coalition forces since October 17.
A GoFundMe campaign raising money for Illerbrunn’s family and his medical expenses says that during the attack, “a piece of shrapnel struck Garrett in the head, lodging from about his temple to almost the back end of his ear; hitting the motor function area of his brain.”
An update on the campaign posted on January 2 said that Illerbrunn was in a coma, but there was a “beacon of hope for his recovery” when there was facial movement after attempting to remove him from sedation.
In response to the attack on Christmas Day, President Joe Biden ordered retaliatory strikes on facilities in Iraq used by the Iran-backed militant group Kataib Hezbollah, and other affiliated groups.
A statement from US Central Command on the retaliatory strikes said it was likely a “number of Kataib Hezbollah militants” were killed.
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