U.S (Washington Insider Magazine) -A Staff Sgt. Died on Tuesday, September 21 at the Joe Swing Park Reservoir near the Fort Campbell base in Kentucky.
This became the second water training fatality in three months for the US Army following the death of Staff Sgt. Micah Walker in Florida in July. In November 2016, Staff Sgt. David Whitcher also lost his life during army dive training.
Olmstead, who was a Utah National Guard Green Beret, was taking part in a tough 10-day school at the Maritime Assessment Course, where the Special Forces are trained and evaluated on their survival skills in water. The soldiers have to spend lengthy periods in the water, undergoing a variety of examinations, including time underwater holding their breath.
On Tuesday, Olmstead took part in the underwater portion of the assessment but did not come back to the surface, with his body being recovered the next day.
In a press release, Col. Paul Peters, the commander of the 19th Special Forces Group, in which Olmstead served under the Bravo Company 1st Battalion, said: “Sometimes we expect this sort of thing in combat, but not during training, which makes this difficult for the unit and especially the family.”
The President of the Combat Diver Foundation, Lino Miani spoke to Military.com about the dangers of water training, even with fit soldiers and the relevant safety procedures.
Miani said: “It requires so much training to know how your body is going to respond and know how to use the equipment. Water is inherently unpredictable.”
Underwater training for the Special Forces resumed by Friday, September 24, relocating after the tragic accident earlier in the week. The incident involving Olmstead is now under investigation.
