Pvt. James N. Zamora was identified this weekend as the soldier who died Thursday after an undisclosed incident at a rifle range on Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
Post officials said the 18-year-old soldier from California was attending Basic Combat Training at the time of his death. Zamora was assigned to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment.
“Special agents assigned to the Fort Stewart CID Office are leading the investigation in the death of PVT Zamora," Jeffrey Castro, a CID spokesman, said in an email to Army Times. "At this point in the investigation, there is no indication of foul play. No further information will be released at this time.”
Following Zamora’s death, the command conducted a 36-hour training stand down “to attend to the needs of the soldiers and cadre, and to evaluate all procedures,” a Saturday morning statement from Fort Jackson reads.
Trainees across post also had the opportunity yesterday to call home and assure families of their safety, the statement noted. No other trainees or cadre were injured on the range, post officials said.
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“Our hearts are heavy for Pvt. Zamora’s family, the soldiers in his unit, and all the family members affected by the loss of James,” said the post commander, Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr. “At this difficult time, we have chaplains, grief counselors, and other medical professionals providing comfort and assistance to those involved.”
A military police investigation into the cause of the death continues, according to post officials, who have not responded to queries about the rifle range incident made by Army Times.
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Zamora is the third soldier attending basic training at Fort Jackson to die this year.
Pvt. Connor McGurran, 19, died in January after he was found unresponsive following a training exercise. And Pvt. Angel Cortes-Torres, 29, died in March after he suffered a “medical emergency while conducting a non-strenuous activity,” according to post officials.
Fort Jackson is one of the largest training facilities in the military, graduating more than 45,000 basic training and 12,000 additional advanced training soldiers every year.
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.
