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New Delhi: The quiet death of Terrence Arvelle “TJ” Jackson, a 50-year-old American national and senior U.S. Army officer, inside a Dhaka hotel has stirred unease in diplomatic and security circles—not only for the secrecy surrounding his work in Bangladesh, but also for its timing, coming months after the country’s dramatic change of government. Jackson, who was based in Raeford, North Carolina, near Fort Liberty—headquarters of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command—was found unresponsive in Room 808 of The Westin Dhaka on the morning of 31 August 2025, according to police documents reviewed by Read. He had checked in two days earlier after what officials described as “several months in Bangladesh on business.” CCTV footage from the hotel showed no irregular activity, and his body was released to the U.S. Embassy Dhaka without a local autopsy. Authorities listed the preliminary cause as natural. Information obtained by Read shows that Jackson was no ordinary soldier.

A LinkedIn profile in Jackson’s name—also referenced by several individuals on social media who claimed to know him—listed a career spanning more than two decades in the U.S. Army, including multiple combat deployments and temporary duty assignments across the Asia theater as well as advanced command roles. He identified his current position as Command Inspector General with the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), the apex administrative and oversight arm of America’s Green Berets. His prior specializations included Infantry Officer(11A) and Special Forces Officer (18A)—fields requiring elite qualifications and leadership certification. The same profile mentioned a bachelor’s degree from The Citadel and a master’s in Defense Analysis (2016-2019) from the Naval Postgraduate School. However, Read confirmed that the account remained active for weeks after his reported death on 31 August, raising questions about whether the profile was being maintained by him or by another party. In light of this uncertainty, the publication has not relied on the account to verify his current designation.

In early September, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) stated that “all currently serving personnel who are assigned to the command are accounted for and present,” implying that the LinkedIn profile attributed to Jackson and the individual who died in Dhaka may not belong to the same person. The Army added that it had “no ongoing operations in Dhaka.” A personal tribute posted online by a close friend, verified by Read, depicted him as calm, analytical, and passionate about radio-controlled aviation, but also noted that he had been in Bangladesh for several months on an assignment linked to aviation-systems work. The post confirmed his date of death as 31 August and recalled that he was preparing to retire within two years. The photograph shared in the tribute matched the officer whose LinkedIn profile is being referenced in media reports.

Read has reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka for comment. Queries have also been sent to Boeing Co. and its subsidiary Insitu, for which Jackson was reportedly working while in Dhaka. A response was awaited at the time of going to press. His death came less than a year after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and the installation of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus’s interim government in August 2024—a transition described by several Bangladeshi commentators as influenced by U.S. diplomacy and aid programmes. Washington has denied any role in those events, calling them Bangladesh’s “internal political process.” Jackson’s combination of rank, regional experience, and technical expertise—coupled with the absence of an autopsy and the speed of diplomatic repatriation—has deepened speculation over what he was doing in Dhaka. Officials in both countries continue to describe his death as non-suspicious but offer no further clarity. To those who knew him, Jackson was “the kind of man who prepared for everything.”