A Nebraska soldier injured in a Humvee accident in Iraq last week died Sunday, according to the Nebraska Army National Guard.

Staff Sgt. Jeffrey J. Hansen, 31, of Cairo, described by a fellow Guardsman as compassionate and “a leader of soldiers,” died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany from injuries he suffered in the accident, the Guard statement said.

Hansen and three other soldiers, members of the Guard’s 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry Regiment, were in the Humvee Aug. 21 when it went off a berm near Camp Anaconda and was submerged in a canal. Camp Anaconda is near Balad, north of Baghdad.

Among Hansen’s survivors are his wife, Jennifer, of Cairo, and his father, Robert Hansen of Bertrand. They were among family members with him in Germany when he died, said Guard Capt. Kevin Hynes. 

Hansen was preceded in death by his mother, Deborah Hansen.

“The entire Nebraska National Guard is grieving over the news of the loss of another soldier,” said Maj. Gen. Roger Lempke in a news release. “Our hearts go out to the family of Staff Sgt. Hansen. He was a dedicated soldier and a good leader, and we will miss him.”

Another of the four injured soldiers, Pfc. Corey L. Walcott, 32, of Kearney, was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for continued treatment of his injuries. An uncle said late last week that Walcott was in stable condition and expected to recover fully. 

Another soldier is still being treated in Germany and is expected to return to duty in Iraq within the next week. The fourth soldier was treated in Iraq and has returned to duty. The names of those soldiers have not been released.

The Army is investigating the Humvee accident. Walcott’s uncle, Buck Walcott, said last week he was told the accident occurred when a road caved in as the soldiers were patrolling a military base. The Nebraska Guard members were submerged for a short time before being pulled from the water.

Hansen graduated in 1993 from Bertrand Community High School  and received his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1997.

He joined the Guard in January 2000 as a member of the cavalry regiment’s Troop A, based in Hastings.

During his years of service, Hansen served as an assistant squad leader, fire team leader and squad leader. His current assignment was as a fire support sergeant.

Hansen also served in Bosnia with the 167th Cavalry for six months from late 2002 to mid-2003.

The unit deployed to Iraq in March and is expected to serve one year.

Sgt. 1st Class Troy Andersen, who is serving his deployment with the unit in Lincoln as a liaison between the families and the unit’s soldiers, said chaplains and a crisis team in Iraq are on hand to help the soldiers cope with the loss.

“He was a great guy. This is tough for me,” Andersen said Monday. “He’s what we look for as far as a leader of soldiers. He’s compassionate, he believed in getting things right, in doing his job well and learning it well.

“He understood his men, and his men respected him.”

Andersen was deployed with Hansen in Bosnia.

“The unit is working hard (in Iraq) and doing the same thing he did. It’s all about doing the mission, and hopefully, eventually, getting home,” Andersen said.

“He’s going to be missed by the unit back here.”

Reach Gwen Tietgen at 473-7242 or gtietgen@journalstar.com.

Nebraskans toll: 33

As of Monday, 33 U.S. service members with Nebraska connections have died in Afghanistan or Iraq since the beginning of military operations following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, according to the Department of Defense and family members. One military-employed civilian who had Nebraska connections was also killed in Iraq.

— Associated Press