Two troopers with the eleventh Airborne Division had been killed and 12 had been injured in a army automobile accident Monday in Alaska, in keeping with the division.
A Gentle Medium Tactical Car, or LMTV, rolled over whereas touring with a convoy within the Yukon Coaching Space, the division mentioned in an announcement. Seventeen troopers had been using within the truck round 11 a.m. when the motive force misplaced management.
First responders supplied on-scene medical therapy and medically evacuated the troopers by floor and air to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, about 30 miles from the location of the incident. Two troopers had been so severely injured they had been flown 300 miles to Anchorage.
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The Army is withholding the names of the deceased troopers till 24 hours after subsequent of kin are notified, which is normal apply.
“We’re all grieving and type of doing what we are able to to help the households,” Army spokesman John Pennell advised an area information station. “Anytime we lose our troopers, it is a tragic occasion for the household, for the guy troopers, for the troopers’ buddies. Basically, the complete eleventh Airborne Division household is grieving the lack of these two troopers and getting ready to step ahead for the households they’ve left behind.”
It is unclear what brought about the LMTV rollover. However because the post-9/11 wars wind down and fight fatalities grow to be extra uncommon, automobile accidents, particularly these involving rollovers, are a number one reason for demise throughout the army.
The incidents have partly been attributed to sleep deprivation and troops not being adequately educated on autos. In lots of instances, investigators have discovered troopers weren’t sporting seat belts — that are non-existent at the back of sure vehicles like LMTVs.
Troopers sit on benches within the LMTV with comparatively little safety if the automobile flips over.
In July, eight troopers with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment primarily based in Vilseck, Germany, had been injured when their LMTV rolled over throughout a coaching train in Bavaria, in keeping with the army newspaper Stars and Stripes. Two of the troopers in that incident required in a single day hospital stays.
The rollover in Germany occurred when the motive force misplaced management on a forest highway, the newspaper reported.
In Could, Army Spc. Jayson Haven, 20, a South Carolina Nationwide Guardsman, died in a Humvee rollover accident at Camp Buehring in Kuwait.
— Steve Beynon could be reached at Steve.Beynon@army.com. Observe him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
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