Soldier dies during basic training at Fort Jackson, US Army says
A soldier in basic training at Fort Jackson died Tuesday, U.S. Army officials said.
The 29-year-old was a National Guard soldier from Connecticut, spokesman Thomas Byrd said in a news release.
The soldier suffered a “medical emergency while conducting a non-strenuous activity,” according to the release.
He was taken to a Columbia-area hospital off the post where he died at about 9:30 p.m., Byrd said.
Information on his cause of death was not available.
The Army will publicly identify the soldier after his family has been notified.
”The loss of one of our own is never easy,” Fort Jackson Commander Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr. said in the release. “We take seriously the safety of everyone at Fort Jackson. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family, friends and teammates of this soldier.”
The soldier’s death is under investigation, Army officials said.
This is the third death of a soldier at Fort Jackson in the past six months.
Pvt. Connor J. McGurran died Jan. 8, according to Fort Jackson. The 19-year-old Minnesota Army National Guard Soldier was found unresponsive following a training exercise, The State reported.
Pvt. Andrew McLean, an 18-year-old from Fayetteville, North Carolina suffered a medical emergency before an outdoor physical training drill in September 2019, The State reported.
Fort Jackson is the nation’s largest military basic training base with more than 50,000 recruits assigned there each year.
Other fatal incidents have been reported at Fort Jackson.
In May 2019, wildlife biologist Angela Nicole Chadwick Hawkins died during a controlled fire in a post training area at Fort Jackson, according to The State.
In October 2017, two soldiers were killed and six more were injured when they were struck by military vehicle during training, The State reported.
An 18-year-old recruit died after a training march in August 2009. In July 2016, a sergeant first class died after collapsing at the end of a physical fitness test.
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This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 9:02 AM.
