A Storm Lake native has died in Afghanistan in what military officials say was a non-combat incident. The Department of Defense says 33-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Deric Rasmussen of Oceanside, California died on May 11th in Mazar E Sharif, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the Company C, First Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, First Air Cavalry Brigade, based in Fort Hood, Texas.
Rasmussen is the son of Philip and Diane Rasmussen, who lived in Storm Lake until 2007. Deric graduated from Storm Lake High School in 1999, joined the Marines in 2000 and in 2003, he left the Marines and joined the Army, where he learned to fly helicopters. His unit was deployed to Iraq in 2007.
Early last year, he joined his current unit, which was deployed to Afghanistan in January. Rasmussen is survived by a wife and three children. No date has been set for a memorial service.