Two 3rd Infantry Division soldiers were killed in a nighttime training incident at Fort Stewart, Georgia, a service spokesperson confirmed Friday, underscoring the persistent dangers of military exercises, particularly those involving tactical vehicles.
The incident, which occurred during field exercises late Thursday, involved a single-vehicle crash, according to a statement from the base. Both soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. Their identities had not yet been released.
The incident compounds an especially deadly week for the Army, after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a passenger plane in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, killing three soldiers and all 64 people aboard the civilian plane.
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"We are heartbroken about this tragic accident and will do everything we can to support the soldiers' families and friends during this incredibly difficult time," Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd Infantry Division commanding general, said in a statement Friday about the deaths at Fort Stewart. "The entire division extends our deepest condolences to the families of the soldiers who died in this accident."
Maj. Charles Egan, a Fort Stewart spokesperson, said that no other personnel were injured in the accident. Egan declined to comment on the type of vehicle involved in the incident, information that is routinely disclosed to the press following fatal incidents, or any of the circumstances around it.
The names of the deceased soldiers were being withheld until the next of kin could be notified.
Vehicle-related incidents are among the leading causes of death for service members in training, military data has shown. A 2021 Government Accountability Office report found that, from 2010 to 2019, nearly 32% of all military training deaths resulted from ground vehicle mishaps.
The combination of rough terrain, night operations, and the sheer weight of armored vehicles can make those exercises particularly perilous. Soldiers often operate in low-visibility conditions to simulate combat environments, increasing the risk of rollovers and collisions.
One of the top contributors to those incidents involves sleep deprivation. Army policy dictates soldiers must have eight hours of continuous rest in a 24-hour period if they're going to operate a tactical vehicle.
In recent years, several high-profile training accidents have drawn scrutiny to the safety of military vehicle operations.
In 2023, two soldiers with the 11th Airborne Division were killed and 12 were injured when their Light Medium Tactical Vehicle, or LMTV, rolled over while traveling with a convoy in the Yukon Training Area of Alaska. In 2020, nine service members died off the California coast when an amphibious assault vehicle sank during a training exercise.
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