Soldier at Fort Jackson dies of heatstroke

By: By Joseph Kasko Media General Columbia Bureau jkasko@florencenews.com | SCNow
Published: October 09, 2009

COLUMBIA — A soldier at Fort Jackson has died after collapsing during a physical fitness test.

The Army said 19-year-old Pvt. Jamal Britt of Edgewood, Md., died Wednesday evening at Providence Northeast Hospital.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said an autopsy determined the cause of death was heatstroke.

The Army said Britt was running during a physical training test when he began laboring.

Britt, who was a in his eighth week of basic training, was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, C Company.

Army Chaplain Todd Morrison said the death has been difficult on Britt’s fellow soldiers.

“Many of them have never lost a close friend, someone they’ve known so intimately here at basic training,” Morrison said. “We try to remind them of those times that they had together. Those positive stories that they had, how Pvt. Britt taught them, made them laugh, helped them through various parts of basic training. And to focus on those things that they can take away from here and ways that they can honor him and his memory.”

Britt is the third soldier to die at Fort Jackson this year.

Last month, Spc. Christopher Hogg became the first member of the U.S. military to die from the H1N1 flu virus.

The 23-year-old native of Deltona, Fla., was also a member of the 3rd Battalion and was scheduled to graduate from basic training Oct. 15.

Morrison said it’s rare to lose two soldiers from a unit during basic training.

“We try to mitigate any risk in all of the training that we do. And so it is unusual,” he said.

In August, Pvt. Jonathan Morales of Milwaukee, also died of apparent heatstroke while marching. Morales, 18, was set to graduate a few days later.

Last year, three soldiers died at Fort Jackson within the span of a month.

Pvt. Derryl Britt, 20, of Durham, N.C., died Sept. 23, 2008, after suffering a brain hemorrhage during a run.

Pvt. Dominique Gibson-Brooks, 19, of Houston, died Sept. 25, 2008, after suffering a seizure in her barracks.

Pvt. Andrea Rosser, 21, of Raleigh, N.C., died Oct. 25 after collapsing during a physical fitness test.

The Army said Fort Jackson officials are investigating the latest incident to determine if any changes need to be made, but precautions already are taken to protect soldiers in the heat.

Fort Jackson is the Army’s largest training center.