Command Sergeant Major John Keith Laborde
A soldier from northeast Iowa has died in Afghanistan. Command Sergeant Major John Laborde of Reinbeck died Thursday in Afghanistan. According to the military, Laborde died from injuries he sustained in a “non-combat related incident” at the Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan.
Laborde had a 31-year career in the military. In 1975 he enlisted in the Marines and in 1985 he enlisted in the Army. Laborde had deployed to Afghanistan as part of the 649th Regional Support Group based in Cedar Rapids.
Laborde and the other 50 soldiers from that unit have been providing management services to other units deployed in the region.
As a command sergeant major, Laborde was the highest-ranking enlisted soldier in the unit.