Joshua Wheeler

Joshua L. Wheeler (22 November 1975 – 22 October 2015) was a United States Army Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (aka Delta Force) Master Sergeant who was killed in Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve. He was the first American service member killed in action as a result of enemy fire while fighting ISIL militants and at the time of his death was the first American to be killed in action in Iraq since November 2011. Wheeler was a highly decorated Delta Force operator having earned 11 Bronze Star Medals including four with Valor Devices. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Early life and education
Wheeler was born in Roland, Oklahoma. He graduated from Muldrow High School in Muldrow, Oklahoma in 1994.

Career
Wheeler enlisted in the U.S. Army in May 1995 as an infantryman and completed basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was then stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington and assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment until 1997 when he was assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Wheeler deployed three times in support of combat operations to Afghanistan and Iraq with the 75th Ranger Regiment. In 2004 Wheeler was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was assigned to the United States Army Special Operations Command, deploying 11 times to Afghanistan and Iraq in support of combat operations.

Death
Wheeler was killed in the predawn hours of 22 October 2015 during Operation Inherent Resolve as a result of enemy small-arms fire sustained during a raid on a ISIL prison compound 7 km North of the town of Hawija in Iraq's Kirkuk province. He was one of around 30 U.S. special operations soldiers who fought alongside Kurdish peshmerga forces. The operation secured the release of approximately 70 hostages, including more than 20 members of the Iraqi Security Forces, being held in the compound. Wheeler was directing the Kurdish attack on the prison and joined the fighting when those who had breached the compound came under fire inside. Reports stated that Wheeler ran toward the sound of the gunfire and that his actions along with those of one of his teammates ensured the success of the operation and protected those Kurdish fighters who had breached the compound. The Kurdish Regional Government asked U.S. special operations forces to support an operation to free hostages that were being held inside the prison and were going to be executed. Information had been obtained which stated the hostages faced imminent execution and it was confirmed that graves had already been prepared for the hostages outside of the compound. The Kurdish Regional Government stated after the raid that none of the 15 Kurdish fighters who were the object of the operation were found and that none of the hostages freed were Kurdish. Four Kurdish peshmerga soldiers were wounded during the operation. Five ISIL militants were detained during the operation and approximately 20 were killed.

Personal life
Wheeler lived in North Carolina with his four sons and wife, Ashley, who had given birth in August 2015 to his fourth son. His three older sons were from a previous marriage.

Awards and decorations
At the time of his death Wheeler had been awarded the following awards and decorations, except for the Purple Heart, which was awarded posthumously.