A 49-year-old U.S. Brigadier general died of apparently natural causes in Afghanistan, the Army said Friday, February 3 the highest-ranking soldier to die during the war.

Brig. Gen. Terence J. Hildner was identified as the first of that rank to die in Afghanistan since the war began there in 2001.

The New Haven, Conn.-born Hildner, who listed Fairfax, Va., as his home, took command of 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) on Aug. 19, 2010, the Army said. He was deployed to Afghanistan in December from Fort Hood.

The circumstances surrounding Hildner's death are still under investigation, the army said.When Hildner did not show up for a meeting Friday morning, a member of his staff went to his room and found him there. He was unresponsive and efforts to resuscitate him were not successful.