Fort Lewis MP dies in Iraq

A highly decorated military police officer from Fort Lewis who saw previous action in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan died Tuesday in Iraq in what the Department of Defense is calling a noncombat incident.

Maj. David L. Audo, 35, of Saint Joseph, Ill., died in Baghdad, according to DOD and Fort Lewis news releases issued Wednesday. He was assigned in July to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 22nd Military Police Battalion at Fort Lewis, and at the time of his death was the executive officer for the battalion’s forward element in Iraq.

He married Rebecca K. Johnson in 1998, according to her Web site, and they have two children, according to The News-Gazette of Champaign, Ill.

Audo’s military career began after receiving his officer commission in 1997. He took his first MP assignment in Schweinfurt, Germany, served two deployments in Kosovo between 1999 and 2001, did a tour of Iraq in 2003, deployed to Afghanistan in 2005, and the next year started a three-year stint as a provost marshal in Southport, N.C., according to information from Fort Lewis.

His civilian education includes a bachelor of science in architecture and a master of arts degree. Among his many awards and decorations are a pair of Bronze Stars for meritorious service.

At a time when U.S. involvement in Iraq is winding down compared to Afghanistan, Audo is the first Fort Lewis soldier to die in Iraq since Sept. 3 and the fifth this year.

Audo is also one of the two highest-ranking commissioned officers from Fort Lewis to die in Iraq; Maj. Horst Moore was killed in 2004.

Matt Misterek: 253-597-8472

matt. misterek@thenewstribune.com