Army Ranger died during free-fall training in January

An Army Ranger died last month during free-fall training in Arizona, according to U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Sgt. Maj. Samuel Morris McAllister, 45, died on Jan. 24 in Eloy, Arizona, a USASOC spokesman told Army Times.

He was posthumously promoted from master sergeant to sergeant major.

In free-fall operations, the jumper isn’t attached to a static line that automatically deploys the parachute. Instead, the jumper free falls before deploying the chute.

No further information about the incident was available since it’s under investigation, USASOC spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt said.

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McAllister was an infantry senior sergeant with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He joined the Army in 1998 and had seven deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2007.

His awards and decorations include two Bronze Star medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal and three Army Commendation medals.

McAllister’s funeral was Monday in Alexandria, Virginia.

Two days before McAllister’s death, Marine Corps Cpl. Alejandro Romero died in a parachute incident in Coolidge, Arizona, which is about 18 miles north of Eloy.

The 22-year-old Marine was attending the Multi-Mission Parachute Course when he died on Jan. 22 while conducting a double-bag static line jump, according to the Marine Corps. The incident is under investigation.

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