Eric John Kruger killed by roadside bomb

Fort Carson - The military said today that the deputy commander of Fort Carson's 2nd Brigade Combat team has been killed in Iraq along with two other soldiers, becoming the Army post's highest-ranking officer to die in the war.

Lt. Col. Eric J. Kruger, 40, of Garland, Texas, was killed last Thursday by a roadside bomb along with Lt. Col. Paul J. Finken, 40, of Mason City, Iowa, and Staff Sgt. Joseph A. Gage, 28, of Modesto, Calif.

All three men were riding in the same Humvee in eastern Baghdad, said Kelly Tyler, a spokeswoman for Fort Campbell.

Kruger was married but McNutt had no other information about his family. Post spokeswoman Dee McNutt said he is the 174th soldier from the Colorado Springs post to be killed in Iraq.

Kruger had won a Bronze Star and a Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters among other commendations. He previously served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bahrain. He joined the Army in January 1989. He held bachelor's and master's degrees from Southern Methodist University.

From the Denver Post