Mississippi National Guard member killed during training exercise
FORT IRWIN, Calif. -- One Mississippi National Guard member has been killed and three others have been injured during a training exercise in California.
The Guard said in a news release Tuesday that investigators were trying to determine what caused the death and injuries Monday night at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, a remote facility 37 miles northeast of Barstow in the High Mojave Desert midway between San Bernardino and Las Vegas.
The four are assigned to the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, based in Tupelo, Mississippi.
The three injured soldiers were taken by military helicopter to the Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, California, and were in stable condition Tuesday.
Gov. Phil Bryant responded to the incident on his Facebook page Tuesday.
"We lost a Mississippi National Guardsman last night during training in California," Bryant wrote. "Three others were injured. Let us come together in prayer for the loved and lost in this tragedy."
The soldiers were participating in a two-week-long training exercise, which focused this week on maneuvering tanks, said Kenneth Drylie, spokesman for the center. Drylie said this week's scheduled exercises did not involve live-fire training.
The troops were doing an armored brigade combat team exercise, which emulates an overseas deployment to a war zone, Drylie said. Also participating in the training are National Guard members from California, Missouri, and members of the Air Force.
Later in the training, troops will participate in a mock battle with 5,000 troops squaring off against 5,000 others designated as enemy forces, Drylie said.
He declined to comment further, saying the accident is under investigation.
Lt. Col. Christian Patterson, spokesman of the Mississippi National Guard, said the exercise has been suspended for the unit that the four members belonged to, but the rest of the Mississippi Guard troops will still participate. He said no further details would be released to avoid compromising the investigation.
The center is one of the few places in the country with room for 10,000 troops to battle each other. It does 10 such training exercises a year with all branches of the military using the facility, Drylie said.
"It's basically like a full deployment overseas except that it's in the California desert," Drylie said.
The names of all four were being withheld until 24 hours after their families are notified.
