A Fort Jackson soldier died after collapsing while taking the physical fitness test, the Army said today.
Pvt. Jamal Britt, 19, of Edgewood, Md., was in his eighth week of basic combat training when the incident happen Wednesday afternoon.
He was pronounced dead at 5:04 p.m. at Providence Northeast Hospital, after initially being transported to Moncrief Army Community Hospital at Fort Jackson.
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The cause of death is under investigation, the Army said.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watt added that an autopsy was performed, but he was awaiting further test results.
Britt, who was assigned to C Company, 3rd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, is the third soldier to die this year at Fort Jackson, the Army's largest training center.
Two other deaths came less than a month apart - one from swine flu, the other from apparent heatstroke.
Spc. Christopher Hogg, 23, of Deltona, Fla., became the U.S. military's first swine flu fatality. Hogg, of Deltona, Fla., died Sept. 10. A member of D Company, 3rd Battalion 13th Infantry Regiment, he was set to graduate Oct. 15.
On Aug. 20, Pvt. Jonathan Morales, 18, of Milwaukee, died from apparent heatstroke while participating in a foot march just days before he was to graduate from basic training.
Morales' death was the first in basic training at the Army's largest training center since three soldiers died within a month of each other in 2008.
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