FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) – The U.S. Army has said the five Fort Hood soldiers who died when a rain-swollen creek swept their vehicle into rushing waters were in the right place for their intended training.
Yet the tragedy is prompting multiple investigations into the circumstances of the deaths and how the military may handle risky training conditions in the future.
The lead Army agency on safety and occupational health dispatched a team to Fort Hood on Friday to investigate the circumstances of the Thursday training exercise on the sprawling Army base in which rescue crews continue to look for four missing soldiers.
“In this case, we see that there can be something learned in the way of future prevention,” said Michael Negard, spokesman for the Army’s Combat Readiness Center.
The center has previously produced reports with recommendations on how soldiers should approach inclement weather. However, Negard would not immediately release them and would not elaborate on whether the Army followed proper protocol when it continued with the training exercise, which turned deadly after days of heavy rain flooded a creek that Army officials said is not prone to flooding.