Soldier Dies in Crash While on Key West Naval Base
KEY WEST, FL- Military.com writes that a 35-year-old seventeen-year veteran of the Army died this week at the naval base in Key West. The Sergeant 1st Class is based out of North Carolina's Fort Bragg but was temporarily on duty at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School at the time of the tragic accident.*
The soldier was walking when a security force civilian driving a truck collided with him, causing the fatal injuries. The driver suffered injuries as well, and an ambulance transported that person to the Lower Keys Medical Center for treatment.
The area where the crash occurred has a five-mile per hour speed limit. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is carrying out an investigation in cooperation with the Key West Police Department. The victim is survived by his wife and two sons. Reports state that the victim had remarkable leadership potential in the military and that he will receive a posthumous promotion. The Sergeant would have been promoted to Master Sergeant if not for his tragic and untimely death.
The circumstances of the crash are not yet clear, and the investigating agencies stated that they will not report while the inquiries into the crash are still ongoing.
Military training deaths are leading to scrutiny. In fact, studies indicate that soldiers are more likely to die in training than on the battlefield. Official statistics find that the risks of training are far outpacing the risks of combat, with training fatalities occurring four times for every one combat-related death.
Motor vehicle accidents are often the issues causing these fatalities. Rollovers, in particular, appear to be an ongoing problem with military vehicles. Aviation also sees a large number of tragic training accidents. In many of these cases, the push for progress is being carried out by the families of those killed in these preventable accidents.
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Sources:
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/09/20/special-operations-soldier-killed-vehicle-accident-key-west-navy-base.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/spike-in-military-training-fatalities-exposes-dangers-troops-face-far-from-the-battlefields/2019/08/30/0912fd58-bec1-11e9-9b73-fd3c65ef8f9c_story.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/06/politics/us-military-deadly-accidents/index.html