HEADQUARTERS, U.S. ARMY ALASKA, JOINT BASE ELMENDORF RICHARDSON, Alaska – A Fort Wainwright Soldier was killed in a single-vehicle accident on Chena Pump Road in Fairbanks Saturday, Sept. 5.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Casey A. Popenoe, 39, was a targeting officer with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. He joined the Army in January 2002 and was appointed as a warrant officer in October 2012. Popenoe served at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, before arriving in Alaska in June 2017.

He served two combat tours of duty in Iraq from December 2003 to February 2005, and from December 2007 to February 2009.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Casey A. Popenoe, who volunteered to serve his country as an American Soldier, and who was a good man to all who knew him,” said Lt. Col. Gene Palka, commander of 2^nd Battalion, 8^th Field Artillery Regiment. “This tragedy has taken a loved-one much too soon from his family and his friends.”

Popenoe’s awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with five oak leaf clusters; Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters; Army Good Conduct Medal with three oak leaf clusters; the Combat Action Badge; Parachutist Badge; National Defense Service Medal; and the Army Service Ribbon.

The accident is under investigation.

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