A soldier who was seriously injured in unknown conditions this summer during the Pentagon’s temporary mission at the Gaza dock has died, the Army confirmed.

Sergeant. Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, passed away on October 31. according to an online obituary. The Army confirmed to Military.com that Stanley was the soldier injured during the humanitarian aid mission, adding that he had been “receiving treatment at (a) long-term care medical facility.”

The circumstances of Stanley’s injury, as well as its severity, have been shrouded in secrecy since military officials confirmed foreign reports that three service members were injured on the pier mission in late May. This trend continued until his death, which was not publicly announced by the Army.

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“Sergeant Quandarius Stanley was a critical and highly respected frontline leader in the 7th Transport Expeditionary Brigade (TBX), especially during the mission of providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza,” said unit commander Col. John Gray . he said in a statement emailed to Military.com.

“We will continue to provide support to his family during this difficult time,” Gray said, adding that “the entire unit is grieving alongside his family.”

CNN was the first medium to report Stanley’s death.

The humanitarian mission used the Army’s Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) system to build a small dock connected to the Gaza coast to bring food and aid to the war-torn region. between May and August.

President Joe Biden announced the plan in his State of the Union address this spring, and the mission became a high-profile effort to try to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people amid continuing Israeli operations in the area.

However, the mission quickly became embroiled in political controversy, with critics arguing that the effort was just a publicity stunt or was not sufficient to address needs in the region. embarrassing breakdowns, stops in operationsand a focus on those without sufficient funds Army Boat Community didn’t help.

The first reports that Stanley had been wounded appeared in Israeli media and, after reporters asked about them at a briefing, the deputy commander of US Central Command, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, confirmed that “an individual “He is receiving care at a local Israeli hospital.” who was injured on a ship at sea.”

Stanley’s name was not revealed at the time. Cooper, when asked by reporters for more details, simply added that the soldier had been taken to a local hospital and promised that he would be “happy to follow up” if asked for more details.

However, USNI News, citing two defense officials, reported that Stanley had been seriously injured while working on a platform two miles off the coast of Gaza, where trucks full of aid packages were being driven from cargo ships to landing craft.

According to information provided by the Army, Stanley joined the service in July 2020 as a motor transport operator and had earned the Driver and Mechanic Badge.

To this day, neither US Central Command nor the Army has said how Stanley was injured.

At another briefing, held less than two months later in July, Cooper said that Stanley, still unidentified, had been taken to a hospital in San Antonio but was “no longer in critical condition.”

“But I think going into more detail about it would be inappropriate,” Cooper said.

However, court records found in Bexar County, where San Antonio is located, suggest that Stanley’s medical condition was much more complicated than Cooper let on.

On August 13, less than a month after Cooper told reporters that the Army sergeant was no longer in critical condition, someone filed a court case to establish a guardianship on behalf of “Quandarius Davon Stanley, an incapacitated person.” .

A guardianship petition suggests that someone close to Stanley had doubts about his ability to make medical decisions for himself. However, according to court records, guardianship was never granted. The case was dismissed after his death.

The Army said Stanley was removed from service on Oct. 25 and died less than a week later.

Military.com reached out to Stanley’s mother for more details but did not receive a response in time for publication. Stanley’s obituary offers no indication of how he died.

Military.com also asked the Army why it did not publicly announce Stanley’s death or his retirement, given that he was the only major casualty in an incredibly high-profile mission ordered by the president during a State of the Union address, but not he did it. listen back in time for publication.

Depending on service, Stanley’s awards included the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, and the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, as well as a variety of service awards.

Meanwhile, both the JLOTS system and the entire Gaza mission are under investigation.

Related: Army dock system now faces second surveillance review following troubled Gaza mission

The story continues