Pentagon identifies sailor killed in Africa

A Navy sailor who died in a “non-combat related incident” on Sunday has been identified as Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew Holzemer of Tennessee.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that Holzemer was deployed in support of Special Operations Command Forward – East Africa when he died “as a result of a non-combat related incident.”

The incident occurred at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, the U.S. military’s only permanent base in Africa, and it is under investigation. No additional details were given.

It is the second death of a U.S. military member reported in Africa this month, after Staff Sgt. Alexander Conrad was killed in a June 8 firefight with al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab militants in Somalia.

That was the first U.S. combat death in Africa since last year’s ambush in Niger that left four U.S. soldiers dead.

The United States has about 6,500 troops stationed in Africa.