An Army Guardsman died during a training accident at Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday night.
The soldier, who was assigned to the Indiana Army National Guard, died from injuries suffered in a tactical vehicle accident in a training area on base, Army officials said in a press release Friday.
The accident occurred at roughly 10 p.m., the release said.
The name of the soldier is withheld pending notification of next of kin. The incident will be investigated by the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, according to base officials.
All questions were directed to the Indiana National Guard, which did not immediately respond to questions from Army Times.
There has been a slight increase in the total number of vehicle fatalities this fiscal year, but a much larger increase in the total number of rollover deaths specifically, according to data provided to Army Times earlier this summer.
The fatalities sparked some changes in safety initiatives by the service, including a “lessons-learned” website for mishaps, exportable safety briefing products and new versions of existing oversight programs.
The rise in vehicle fatalities also caught the attention of new Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, when he was still the senior enlisted leader for Army Forces Command.
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In an Army safety brief video published in mid-June, Grinston warned troops against driving vehicles they aren’t properly trained on.
“If I asked you to hop in a vehicle you aren’t qualified in and drive it, would you? What if I asked you to ride in a vehicle driven by another soldier who wasn’t qualified?” Grinston asked. “Chances are, this describes you or someone you know and tragically this describes recent scenarios where soldiers have died.”
Army motor vehicle mishaps are the number one killer of on-duty soldiers, and inadequate unit driver training programs contribute to 68 percent of these mishaps, according to the video.
“Regardless of the echelon of command you serve, demand accountability,” Grinston said in the video.
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.
