A U.S. Army drill sergeant based at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, was found dead on Saturday, just 10 days after another drill sergeant was found dead at the same training base.
According to a press release shared with Newsweek, 30-year-old Staff Sergeant Zachary Melton was located in his vehicle on Saturday after he failed to report for work. Melton was attached to the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment.
Fort Jackson officials said that Melton was pronounced dead by emergency medical services personnel shortly after they arrived at the scene. His next of kin have been notified and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the death.
"We are extremely saddened by the loss of Staff Sergeant Melton," Brigadier General Jason Kelly, the commanding general at Fort Jackson, said in the release. "Our thoughts are with his family and the soldiers of the Always Forward battalion during this very emotional time."
Additional information, such as a cause of death, has not been released at this time. Fort Jackson officials said that military chaplains and behavioral health personnel are available to support members of Melton's unit.
Melton's death is the second that Fort Jackson has endured in the past two weeks. On December 8, 34-year-old Staff Sergeant Allen Burtram, with the 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, was found deceased by his unit members after also failing to report for work.
According to local reports, Burtram had been based at Fort Jackson for the past 18 months and had served in the Army for 12 years. The Army Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the incident but has said that there is no apparent evidence of foul play in Burtram's death.
Three drill sergeants have died at Fort Jackson in 2023. On June 12, 40-year-old Staff Sergeant Jaime Contreras was found unresponsive on a land navigation course after going missing during a training exercise roughly nine hours earlier. According to Fort Jackson officials, he was located about 50 meters outside the boundaries of the training course and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A cause of death for Contreras was not released by Fort Jackson officials.
According to the base's website, Fort Jackson is the main production center for basic combat training for the Army, training roughly 50 percent of all U.S. soldiers who enter the forces each year. Over 60 percent of all women who enter the Army each year also trained at Fort Jackson.
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