Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Lynn Woodham [Click to enlarge]

The Department of Defense announced Monday the death of an Arkansas Army National Guard Soldier with the 39th Brigade Combat Team participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Lynn Woodham, 37, of Rogers died July 5 at Camp Adder, Tallil, Iraq, from non-combat related injuries resulting from contact with an electrified piece of metal in the vehicle maintenance area.

Woodham was assigned to Delta Company, 39th Brigade Support Battalion, 39th Brigade Combat Team of Heber Springs. At the time of his death, he was attached as a vehicle maintenance supervisor with the 1st Squadron, 151st Cavalry Regiment, 39th Brigade Combat Team at Tallil, Iraq. The incident is under investigation.

Maj. Gen. William D. Wofford, adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard, said, "My heart goes out to this soldier's family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this trying time. No words can fill the gap left by such a loss."

"A dark cloud hangs over the Bowie Brigade today, and it's a day we had hoped we wouldn't see during this deployment," said Col. Kendall Penn. "There are no words that can describe the loss of a soldier, a loved one, a friend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Anthony Woodham in their time of mourning. They should know that every soldier in this Brigade feels the pain associated with this loss."

The 39th Brigade Support Battalion left Jan. 6 for their mobilization station at Camp Shelby, Miss., to prepare for deployment to Iraq. They moved forward to Iraq in late March for the remainder of the year-long deployment. In total, the Brigade has over 3,000 soldiers on duty in Iraq and expects their return home some time in January 2009.

This is the 23rd loss suffered by the Arkansas National Guard during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the first for this -- the 39th Brigade Combat Team's second rotation to Iraq.