Fort Jackson Army recruit dies preparing for outdoor physical training drill
An 18-year-old Army recruit at Fort Jackson died on Friday night following a "medical emergency" before an outdoor physical training exercise, according to a Fort Jackson official.
The unidentified recruit was from central North Carolina and part of the 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry regiment, nicknamed the "River Raiders."
U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson commanding general, Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle, Jr., posted a statement to Twitter saying the recruit, "experienced a medical emergency" while preparing to do physical training and that "separate investigations will be taking place to determine the facts behind the incident."
"The tragic loss of a Soldier, our nation's most precious resource, is devastating to the families, friends and teammates," according to the statement.
Medical responders transported the 18-year-old from Fort Jackson to Providence Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, where the recruit was pronounced dead shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Friday. According to a statement on the Fort Jackson Facebook page, Providence Hospital staff reported that the death was not heat-related.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own. Our hearts and prayers are with the family members and team mates of the deceased soldier," said Beagle. "We are providing every comfort and assistance we can to all involved."
All 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry soldiers-in-training were given the opportunity to call home in the 36 hours following the recruit's death.
The recruit's name will not be released until next-of-kin notification is complete. The cause of death is under investigation.
Fort Jackson trains half of the Army's basic combat recruits with 10,000 soldiers training daily, according to the base's website.
More U.S. service members are dying during training exercises than in combat operations, according to a congressional report from May. Between 2006 and 2018, 31.9% of active-duty military deaths were the result of accidents. By comparison, 16.3% of service members who died during that time were killed in action.
In 2017 alone, nearly four times as many service members died in training accidents as were killed in combat, according to a House Armed Services Committee report.
