Mississippi National Guard IDs soldier who died in California training accident

Sgt. Kyle Clayton Thomas died while conducting combat maneuver operations on Monday in California, according to an Army news release.

Three other Mississippi National Guardsmen were injured when the four soldiers were involved in a rollover incident in an M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin.

Thomas was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 198th Armored Regiment, 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team.

Sgt. Kyle Clayton Thomas died on Monday during a rollover incident involving an M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank.

Photo Credit: Army

"Our thoughts and prayers are with our fallen soldier's family, friends, and fellow 2-198 AR soldiers," Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles, the adjutant general of Mississippi, said in the release. "The safety and security of our soldiers and airmen is paramount and we are working diligently to prevent any future incidents." 

The three injured soldiers were taken by military helicopter to the Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, California. Two have been released and one remains in stable condition. 

The incident is under investigation.

The 155th ABCT — the largest unit in the Mississippi National Guard — is participating in Decisive Action Rotation 17-07 at the National Training Center.

The exercise "is reflective of the complexities of potential adversaries our nation could face and include: guerrilla, insurgent, criminal and near-peer conventional forces woven into one dynamic environment," according to the National Training Center's Operations Group Facebook page.

Charlsy Panzino covers the Guard and Reserve, training, technology, operations and features for Army Times and Air Force Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.  

In Other News

Lawmakers ask for DOD data on troops’ tuition assistance problems

A group of lawmakers wants to know why military officials stopped releasing information from their Postsecondary Education Complaint System.

With promotion still blocked, Air Force officer’s eligibility extended

Col. Ben Jonsson's promotion window was set to expire. The Pentagon just granted the him another year of eligibility.

The Marine officer who saved 8,000 lives at the ‘Frozen Chosin’

'To me, it didn’t matter whether those were Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, whatever — they were the enemy.'

Burn pits increased risk of asthma, heart problems, new DOD data shows

Researchers tracked nearly 460,000 veterans and found increased risk of several respiratory and heart issues among individuals who deployed near burn pits.

Supreme Court to hear another major veterans benefits case this fall

The high court will consider whether VA officials are properly reviewing benefits decisions that deny veterans medical help.

Load More