The death of a Special Forces candidate is under investigation, according to officials from the Army’s John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Pfc. Nicholas Martinez was found dead in his barracks on Thanksgiving Day, officials said.
Martinez was assigned to the Out of Training Student Support Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group, at the time of his death. He had completed the Special Forces Preparatory and Conditioning Course and was awaiting additional training.
The 19-day preparatory course precedes the Special Forces Assessment and Selection course. After completion of both, Green Beret candidates attend the roughly 45-week Qualification Course, also on Fort Bragg.
Before beginning training, Martinez had attended infantry training and airborne school on Fort Benning, Georgia. He was originally from Moultrie, Georgia, and had enlisted in September 2016.
Martinez is survived by his parents and three siblings.
Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.
