Soldier from Johnstown dies in non-combat incident under investigation in Afghanistan

A soldier from Cambria County died this week from a non-combat-related incident in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said Friday.

Army Pfc. Joshua Mikeasky, 19, of Johnstown died Thursday at Bagram Airfield in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan, defense officials said in a news release.

Mikeasky was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y. He was deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation Freedom’s Sentinel , the U.S. military’s name for the global war on terrorism.

Officials did not provide further details about how Mikeasky died, other than that his death was not related to combat.

The incident is under investigation.

He’s at least the third soldier form Western Pennsylvania to die in Afghanistan in the past three weeks.

Two others died from combat-related injuries, the defense department said.

Export native Army Sgt. Jason Mitchell McClary , 24, died Dec. 2 at a base in Germany from injuries he suffered five days earlier when an improvised explosive device detonated in Afghanistan. McClary graduated from Kiski Area High School and Northern Westmoreland Career & Technology Center in New Kensington in 2013. He is survived by his wife, Lillie, and two young sons, Jett, 3, and Jason James, 11 months.

Funeral services for Sgt. McClary are scheduled for Tuesday at a Murrysville church.

RELATED: Visitation, funeral set for Export Army sergeant killed in Afghanistan

Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan Elchin, 25, of Hookstown, Beaver County, was killed in the same roadside bomb that injured McClary in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, an area where the Taliban is resurgent.

Four died from the Nov. 27 explosion, making it the deadliest attack against U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year, the Associated Press reported. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Last week, friends and family paid their respects to Sgt. Elchin during a public memorial service at Impact Christian Church in Moon Township.

RELATED: Loved ones mourn Beaver County airman killed in Afghanistan

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@tribweb.com or via Twitter @NewsNatasha.