
Michigan soldier dies from "non-combat-related incident" while serving in Iraq
Staff Sgt. Saul Fabian Gonzalez, 26, of Pullman, Michigan, died Tuesday while serving in Erbil, Iraq, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
Gonzalez was assigned to D Troop, 2nd Squadron, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
"It is with heavy hearts, we share the news of the loss of SSG Saul F. Gonzalez," his unit posted on social media Wednesday. "While his passing was not combat-related, it is felt by all who knew him. We honor his service and reflect upon the positive impact he had as an outstanding Non-Commissioned Officer, Technical Inspector, and friend. Please keep his family and fellow Troopers in your thoughts and prayers."
The death is under investigation, according to the Department of Defense press release.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Connor Stalions scouted MSU for Central Michigan, not Wolverines, per report
One of the big sticking points in the Connor Stalions advanced scouting saga was whether or not he was on the sidelines in East Lansing for the Central Michigan at Michigan State game. Unconfirmed that it was indeed Stalions until the NCAA COI release on Friday, the narrative had long been that Stalions was there to advanced scout Michigan football's in-state rival, the Spartans. Here is what the NCAA noted in its 74-page report: On one occasion in 2023, Stalions personally engaged in-person scouting when he stood on CentralMichigan University's sideline wearing a bench pass and disguised in Central Michigan-issuedcoaching gear during the institution's contest against Michigan State. According to interviewstatements by a former football staff member, Stalions attended that game in part to decipherMichigan State's signals, but also to help a Central Michigan staff member with play calling. (...) With regard to Bylaw 11.6.1, Michigan and Stalions argued that the scope of the scouting bylawis narrow. Based on the text of the bylaw, both parties claimed that an institutional employee mustattend the contest in-person to commit a violation. Thus, they both agreed that Stalions' in-personattendance at the Central Michigan game constituted a violation. However, according to CBS Detroit, there was more to the story. Crime reporter Gino Vicci confirmed that Stalions was contacted directly by the Chippewas in order to help CMU live, in-game, with its contest against the Spartans -- meaning he wasn't there for Michigan. A Central Michigan University source has confirmed that CMU football coaching staff requested former University of Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions to assist its staff during CMU's 2023 season opener against Michigan State University on Sept. 1, 2023. (...) Two sources with direct knowledge of the incident confirmed to CBS News Detroit that a CMU coach initiated contact with Stalions and that then-head coach Jim McElwain was likely aware of and approved of the arrangement to secure Stalions a sideline credential and outfit him in CMU-issued gear. However, it certainly wouldn't have much material difference as Stalions was a Wolverines staffer at the time, and, as noted above, both the NCAA and Michigan acknowledged the breach of 11.6.1 with his attendance at Spartan Stadium. At the same time, given CMU's complicity in the matter, it does affect the spirit of the rule. According to the NCAA, Stalions argued that his attendance in East Lansing should constitute as a Level III violation, while the COI responded: 'The panel disagrees.' Central Michigan is under NCAA investigation for its role in Stalions attending the game. Since, then-head coach Jim McElwain and former offensive coordinator Jake Kostner -- both of whom were previously on Michigan's staff -- have lost their roles in Mount Pleasant.


CBS News
5 hours ago
- CBS News
Central Michigan staff arranged for Connor Stalions to assist during 2023 MSU game, sources say
A Central Michigan University source has confirmed that CMU football coaching staff requested former University of Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions to assist its staff during CMU's 2023 season opener against Michigan State University on Sept. 1, 2023. Stalions was at the center of Michigan's alleged sign-stealing scheme, which sparked an NCAA investigation and resulted in hefty fines and suspensions for the university's football program and for Stalions, who was given an eight-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period. Two sources with direct knowledge of the incident confirmed to CBS News Detroit that a CMU coach initiated contact with Stalions and that then-head coach Jim McElwain was likely aware of and approved of the arrangement to secure Stalions a sideline credential and outfit him in CMU-issued gear. Stalions' presence on CMU's sidelines has fueled a wave of speculation and theories, largely because it unfolded in the middle of the NCAA's broader investigation into Michigan football for advanced scouting and sign stealing. There has been a question whether or not Stalions somehow snuck onto the sidelines on his own accord. According to the CMU source, Stalions' role during CMU's game against MSU was the result of a direct request from CMU's staff, with the sole purpose of assisting their program for that game. The situation has also drawn increased attention due to the 2024 resignation of Jake Kostner, who served as CMU's quarterbacks coach, while McElwain retired after the 2024 season and is currently serving in an off-field role as special assistant to the director of athletics. A third CMU coach has also disappeared from the coaches' list amidst this controversy. Mike Zordich was the defensive backs coach for the Chippewas from 2021 to 2024. Zordich served in the same capacity at Michigan from 2015 to 2020. Kostner graduated from Michigan in 2018 and was a four-year student assistant under then-coach Jim Harbaugh. McElwain was Michigan's wide receivers coach in 2018. CMU is currently under an NCAA investigation regarding Stalions' sideline presence during that game, and McElwain himself is the subject of that investigation. CBS News Detroit reached out to McElwain, Kostner and Stalions for comment, but none responded. McElwain's email is not listed on CMU's athletic website, and the number listed under CMU's 2024 football coaching staff page, as of Aug. 17, was not a working number. CBS News Detroit also sent a request for comment and attempted to contact McElwain via CMU's Director of Athletics, Amy Folan, on Aug. 15, but our emails were not returned. On Aug. 15, Stalions' attorney, Brad Beckworth of Nix Patterson, LLP, released the following statement regarding the NCAA's decision, saying in part: "We are not surprised by the NCAA's ruling because the NCAA did, as it has always done, the wrong thing. Based on the penalties laid down today, it is obvious that this whole ordeal was just another, last-ditch effort by the NCAA in its perpetual, petty witch hunt of Coach Harbaugh. Connor was just the vehicle through which the NCAA could give itself the last word in this vendetta." "Connor will be fine. He is a wonderful person. He's smart. He's loyal, dedicated, and determined—traits he carries with him onto the football field from his days serving his country to protect all of us. He loves helping young people learn about life and football. And, regardless of what the NCAA says today, he plans to continue learning about and contributing to the game of football at is highest levels." CBS News Detroit reached out to the NCAA for comment. An NCAA spokesperson said the NCAA does not comment on current, pending or potential investigations. This is a developing story that will be updated. Stay with CBS News Detroit for the latest.


CBS News
9 hours ago
- CBS News
Iraq starts excavation of suspected Islamic State mass grave
Iraqi officials have begun the excavation of what is believed to be a mass grave left behind by the Islamic State extremist group during its rampage across the country a decade ago. Local authorities are working with the judiciary, forensic investigations, Iraq's Martyrs' Foundation, and the directorate of mass graves to carry out the excavation of the site of a sinkhole in al-Khafsa, south of the northern city of Mosul, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported Sunday. Ahmad Qusay al-Asady, head of the Martyrs Foundation's mass graves excavation department, told The Associated Press that his team began work at Khasfa on Aug. 9 at the request of Nineveh province's Gov. Abdulqadir al-Dakhil. The operation is initially limited to gathering visible human remains and surface evidence while preparing for a full exhumation that officials say will require international support. After an initial 15 days of work, the foundation's Mosul teams will build a database and start collecting DNA samples from families of suspected victims. Al-Asady explained that laboratory processing and a DNA database must come first to ensure proper identification. Full exhumations can only proceed once specialized assistance is secured to navigate the site's hazards, including sulfur water and unexploded ordnance. Khasfa is "a very complicated site," he said. Based on unverified accounts from witnesses and families and other unofficial testimonies, authorities estimate that thousands of bodies could be buried there, he said. Scores of mass graves containing thousands of bodies of people believed to have been killed by the extremist group have been found in Iraq and Syria. Some of the mass graves found in Iraq over the past two decades are believed to date back to the early 1990s, during Saddam Hussein's regime. Other mass graves include bodies of women and children. At its peak, IS ruled an area half the size of the United Kingdom in Iraq and Syria and was notorious for its brutality. It beheaded civilians and enslaved and raped thousands of women from the Yazidi community, one of Iraq's oldest religious minorities. The extremist group has boasted of massacring Shiites and other opponents, often releasing gruesome videos and pictures of the killings. The group was defeated in Iraq in July 2017, when Iraqi forces captured the northern city of Mosul. Three months later, it suffered a major blow when Kurdish forces captured the Syrian northern city of Raqqa, which was the group's de facto capital. The war against IS officially ended in March 2019, when U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces captured the eastern Syrian town of Baghouz, which was the last sliver of land the extremists controlled. Rabah Nouri Attiyah, a lawyer who has worked on more than 70 cases of missing people in Nineveh, told the AP that information he obtained from the foundation and different Iraqi courts during his investigations points to Khasfa as "the largest mass grave in modern Iraqi history." Al-Asady, however, said investigators "cannot confirm yet if it is the largest mass grave" to be found in Iraq, "but according to the size of the space, we estimate it to be one of the largest." Attiyah said roughly 70% of the human remains at Khasfa are believed to belong to Iraqi army and police personnel, with other victims including Yazidis. He said he has interviewed numerous eyewitnesses from the area who saw IS fighters bring people there by bus and kill them. "Many of them were decapitated," he said. Attiyah's own uncle and cousin were police officers killed by IS, and he is among those hoping to identify and recover the remains of loved ones. Testimonies and witness statements, as well as findings from other mass graves in Nineveh, indicate that most of the military, police and other security forces personnel killed by IS are expected to be found at Khasfa, along with Yazidis from Sinjar and Shiite victims from Tal Afar, he said.