Terence Hildner Brigadier General Terence John Hildner ( February 20 , 1962 – February 3 , 2012 ) was a United States Army General Officer who served as commander of the 13th Sustainment Command ( Expeditionary ) from 2010 until his death in 2012 . He is the highest - ranking American officer to die while serving in the war in Afghanistan . Military career . Hildner graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 . He was commissioned as an Armor officer and his first assignment was with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss , Texas . In 1988 he joined the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Federal Republic of Germany where he served as the Regimental Training Officer and later took command of a ground cavalry troop . During his company command , Hildner deployed his troop to Saudi Arabia and was part of the U . S . VII Corps ' attack into Kuwait and Iraq during Operation Desert Storm . His unit also conducted the last U . S . patrol along the East - West German border before the unification of Germany in 1990 . Later Hildner served in several assignments at Fort Hood , Texas , to include 2nd Armored Division Comptroller and Aide - de - Camp to the Commanding General 4th Infantry Division . Following his branch transfer to the Quartermaster Corps he graduated from the U . S . Army Command and General Staff College in 1997 . Hildner served in a variety of staff positions to include Battalion Executive Officer of the 296th Forward Support Battalion , Supply & Services Chief for I Corps G4 at Fort Lewis , Washington , and J4 for the Department of Defense ' s counterdrug task force ( JTF - 6 ) . As a Lieutenant Colonel , Hildner assumed command of the 13th Corps Support Command ' s Special Troops Battalion at Fort Hood , TX . The battalion deployed twice during his nearly two years of command . The first was to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom where the battalion served in the capacity of a Combat Sustainment Support Battalion , providing general logistical support to units located around Joint Base Balad as well as the Abu Gharib prison complex . The second deployment was as part of Logistical Task Force Lone Star , providing both military and humanitarian support operations to the victims of Hurricane Katrina . In 2007 , Hildner authored a paper titled " Interagency Reform : Changing Organizational Culture Through Education and Assignment " as part of his master of strategic studies degree program . Hildner commanded the 23rd Quartermaster Brigade at Fort Lee , VA from July 2007 to July 2009 , training more than 20 , 000 Quartermaster Soldiers annually . From 2009 - 2010 he served as the G3 / Director of Training & Doctrine for the Combined Arms Support Command ( CASCOM ) . On August 19 , 2010 , he assumed command of the 13th Sustainment Command , and subsequently deployed to Afghanistan from his headquarters at Fort Hood in Texas . Hildner died February 3 , 2012 , in Kabul , Afghanistan , of apparent natural causes , and is the highest - ranking American to die in the Afghan war . Hildner ' s funeral was held on February 29 , 2012 at the Memorial Chapel on Joint Base Myer - Henderson Hall , Virginia . The Army ' s Chief of Chaplain ' s Major General Donald L . Rutherford presided over the Catholic Mass and the Chief of Staff of the Army , General Raymond T . Odierno and many other senior military officers attended the service . Hildner was laid to rest in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors provided by Charlie Company , 3d U . S . Infantry Regiment ( The Old Guard ) .