Javion Shavonte Sullivan

Fort Mill, South Carolina

January 8, 2018

Age

Military

Rank

Unit/Location

Army

Spc

Signal Company, 11th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade

Fort Hood, Texas

Died 8 in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, from a non-combat related incident.

US soldier who died in Iraq leaves behind 'love of his life,' 3-year-old daughter

By CHAD GARLAND | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: January 10, 2018
A U.S. soldier who died while supporting the anti-Islamic State coalition in Iraq has been identified as Spc. Javion Shavonte Sullivan.

Sullivan, of Fort Mill, S.C., died Monday in Iraq’s Al Anbar province in a noncombat incident, the Pentagon said late Tuesday. His death is under investigation.

He joined the Army to “make a better life for his family, fight for his country,” Patricia Hackett, the soldier’s aunt, told a local Fox News affiliate in South Carolina. “It was just something he wanted to do.”
The 24-year-old was married to the love of his life, Rayven, who he had been with for more than a decade, his aunt said. The couple’s daughter Mahogany, 3, will carry on Sullivan’s loving spirit, she said.
“He’s gone, but looking at her, she’s his twin,” she said. “We will always see Javion in Mahogany.”

Sullivan was assigned to the Fort Hood, Texas-based 16th Signal Company, 11th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, which provides communications support to III Corps operations.

He is the first U.S. servicemember to die while supporting the anti-ISIS campaign this year, and the 22nd since Operation Inherent Resolve began in the fall of 2014.

Over the past three years of fighting, ISIS has lost nearly all the territory it once controlled in Iraq and Syria. U.S. officials believe about 1,000 fighters are now operating in small cells in the desert near the Iraqi-Syrian border and in some of the cities that security forces have retaken and are continuing to clear and secure.

Thousands of U.S. and international troops continue to support the fight through training, advice, intelligence and precision fire support.

Soldier from Fort Hood dies in noncombat incident in Iraq

A Fort Hood soldier died in Iraq in a noncombat-related incident, the Defense Department announced late Tuesday.

Spc. Javion Shavonte Sullivan, 24, died Monday in Al Anbar province, Iraq, as a result of the incident.

Sullivan was from Fort Mill, South Carolina. He was assigned to the 16th Signal Company, 11th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. He was serving in Iraq while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.

The incident is under investigation, officials said.

Sullivan joined the Army in November 2015 as a cable systems installer-maintainer. He had been with the 16th Signal Company at Fort Hood since September 2016.

His awards include the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

Sullivan leaves behind his wife, Rayven, and their 3-year-old daughter, Mahogany, according to Fox Carolina.

The local Fox News station reported that Sullivan had been involved in a group text with family members on Sunday, and they were shocked when they received the news of his death on Monday.

Sullivan’s aunt, Patricia Hackett, said he joined the Army to make a better life for his family and to fight for his country.