Brian Patton enlisted in the Navy in 1993, and was a Navy Reserve sailor at the time of his death, serving as an Individual Augmentee.*

At the time of this posting, there is little information in the hometown newspaper (The Journal-Standard) of Freeport, IL, a community located just a little over 100 miles west of Chicago on I-90, and about ten miles south of the IL-WI state line.

The Journal-Standard (Freeport, IL): Reservist dies in Kuwait in vehicle crash

Navy Times: Reservist IA dies in vehicle crash in Kuwait

*According to the J-S article linked above:

Individual Augmentees (IAs) are Navy personnel who either volunteer or are involuntarily transferred to work with the Army in combat duty. There are approximately 13,000 sailors serving in IA billets, split between active duty and reserve components. The majority of IAs serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Added in edit: Wiki entry for Individual Augmentee

Although Freeport Illinois was Patton’s residence-of-record (apparently), and where he finished high school years ago, for the past several years he lived near Nanticoke Pennsylvania (a bit west of WIlkes-Barre, and southwest of Scranton), which is the area where he grew up until high school. His stateside civilian job was as a prison guard at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas, PA.

WNEP-16 (PA) – Area Sailor Dies in Kuwait (article & video, 2:42) – the video offers a dollop of heartland-style cognitive dissonance to go with the tribute

PA HomePage (PA) – Luzerne County Serviceman Dies Overseas – more detail on his stateside life.

The Citizens Voice (Wilkes-Barre, PA) – Local serviceman killed in Kuwait – includes some nice photos, and a bit more detail on the circumstances of Patton’s death