Master Sgt. Justin Sweat, of the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, is remembered with a service at Camp Zama Chapel just outside Tokyo, Sept. 30, 2024. (Connor Davis/U.S. Army)
Master Sgt. Justin Sweat, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who died in Japan just short of his retirement, was remembered by mourners this week as one of the best in his field.
The soldier’s family, friends and colleagues gathered Monday at the Camp Zama Chapel to reflect on their loss and his 21 years of military service.
Sweat, 38, of Lebanon Junction, Ky., was found dead at the Sagamihara Family Housing Area on Sept. 20, U.S. Army Japan spokesman Manuel Torres-Cortes said by email Wednesday.
“The incident remains under investigation,” he said.
Master Sgt. Justin Sweat, of the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, was found dead at the U.S. Army's Sagamihara Family Housing Area near Tokyo, Sept. 20, 2024. (U.S. Army)
Sweat served with the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Sagami General Depot near Tokyo.
He was remembered for “the honorable and trustworthy man he was,” his unit wrote in a Facebook post on the day of the ceremony.
In remarks video recorded at the service and posted on Facebook, brigade commander Col. Joseph Scott said Sweat was preparing to retire for months prior to his death.
The former infantryman was the brigade’s first-ever career counselor and helped encourage soldiers to stay in the Army and reach their full potential, Scott said.
During his five years with the brigade, Sweat helped nearly 600 soldiers reenlist in the Army, Scott said. “He was one of the best at his job in the entire U.S. Army.”
Master Sgt. Justin Sweat, of the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, is remembered with a service at Camp Zama Chapel just outside Tokyo, Sept. 30, 2024. (Connor Davis/U.S. Army)
Early in Sweat’s career, he served in some of the toughest battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, Scott said.
Other members of the unit remembered the late husband and father for his hard work helping soldiers earn the Expert Soldier Badge. Sweat oversaw the weapons lane during testing for the badge at Sagami General Depot, according to an April 24, 2022, Army news release.
The most challenging event in his lane was the grenade throw, Sweat said in the release. In it, soldiers had two tries to toss a training grenade 40 yards and have it land within 5 ½ yards of the target.
“It’s important for them to know this kind of stuff,” Sweat said, “because weapons proficiency is a foundational skill of any Soldier, regardless of their job, position or unit of assignment.”
Sweat enlisted in September 2003 and served in the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions before becoming a senior career counselor in Japan, according to his official biography.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 10 oak leaf clusters and Army Achievement Medal with six oak leaf clusters.
He also earned the National Defense Service Medal and campaign medals for his tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and his service in the Global War on Terrorism, the Combat Infantry Badge and jump wings from El Salvador and Ukraine, among other decorations.
Sweat is survived by wife, Ashli, of Perth, Australia, and their son, Sean.
