Staff Sgt. Garett Swift, 37, of Fort Riley, Kansas, was found dead in his home by local police on Sept. 4, Army officials said.
Swift, a fire support specialist, was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, at Fort Riley, Kansas.
The soldiers of his battalion “mourn the loss of Staff Sgt. Swift,” Lt. Col. Richard J. Ikena Jr., commander of the regiment, said in a press release. “The battalion will continue to fully support Staff Sgt. Swift’s family and teammates through these challenging times.”
Swift’s death is the third for the 1st Infantry Division in the last several weeks, according to LTC Joey J. Sullinger, a spokesperson for the 1st Infantry Division.
Spc. Richard Cox, an indirect fire infantryman with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, died Aug. 16 in a Topeka hospital after suffering a gunshot wound, and on Aug. 19, Pvt. John Martinez, a cavalry scout with the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, was “found unresponsive in his barracks room on Fort Riley and was quickly transported to Irwin Army Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead,” Sullinger told Military Times.
Swift enlisted in the Army in October 2006, and was assigned to Fort Riley in November 2013, according to the release.
Swift had several overseas tours including South Korea in 2007, Afghanistan in 2009, Germany in 2010 and again to Afghanistan in 2011.
The Junction City Police Department and Fort Riley Criminal Investigation Command are investigating Swift’s death.
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
