Two soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division died last week after sustaining injuries during a vehicle training exercise near Fort Stewart, Georgia, the Army said.
Staff Sgt. Shelbe Butner, 28, and Spc. Jacob Mullen, 25, were conducting a combat training exercise Thursday under blackout conditions when the tactical vehicle they were driving rolled off the road and into standing water. Soldiers from their unit arrived on the scene to perform first aid until the fire department and emergency services responded. Attempts to save their lives were unsuccessful.
“Our hearts are broken at this devastating loss,” Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd Infantry Division commanding general, said in a statement. “Shelbe and Jacob were honored and highly respected Soldiers of the Marne Division, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and fellow Soldiers at this incredibly difficult time.”
Butner and Mullen were motor transport operators assigned to the 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
Butner served in the Army for nine years, receiving the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Air Assault Badge and Drill Sergeant Badge. Mullen, who served for seven years, previously deployed to Poland and received the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.
The U.S. Army’s Combat Readiness Center, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the 18th Airborne Corps are investigating the incident.
Vehicle rollovers and ensuing injuries or fatalities have been a problem for the Army, as well as other services, in the past.
In 2021, the Government Accountability Office published a report recommending additional safety measures to prevent vehicle training accidents, which they attributed to a lack of training, among other causes.
Between 2010 and 2019, there were 3,091 Army tactical vehicle accidents, 726 of which involved rollovers, according to the report.
In that same time span, vehicle accidents involving Army and Marine Corps personnel resulted in 123 deaths, the report said.
In July 2024, a Marine died in a Humvee rollover at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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