A second drill sergeant has been found dead at Fort Jackson in South Carolina in a little more than a week.
Army Staff Sgt. Zachary L. Melton, 30, was found unresponsive in his car Saturday after he failed to report for duty, troopers said Monday.
No immediate cause of death was given.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Staff Sgt. Melton,” said Brig. Gen. Jason E. Kelly, commander-in-chief of Fort Jackson.
“Our thoughts are with his family and the soldiers of the battalion Always Forward at this very emotional time.”
Melton’s unit completed its final basic training cycle on Thursday.
The native of Huntsville, Alabama, has been in the Army for more than 10 years – with the past three as a drill sergeant.
Staff Sgt. Zachary L. Melton, 30, a drill sergeant with the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, was found by members of the unit after he failed to report for work. United States Army
Melton, who was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, was the second drill sergeant found dead at Fort Jackson in eight days.
On December 8, Staff Sgt. Allen M. Burtram, 34, a drill sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, was found dead after he failed to report for work, the Army said.
The US Army’s Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the deaths of the two soldiers, the branch shared.
Staff Sgt. Allen Burtram, 34, was found dead on the Fort Jackson base on December 8. United States Army
Burtram, from Cleveland, Alabama, spent the last 12 years in the Army and has been at Fort Jackson for the past 18 months.
There was no evidence of foul play in either death, the Army told Military.com.
This is the third fatality at the Army installation this year.
In June, Staff Sgt. Jaime Contreras was found dead after participating in training.
Melton’s death marks the third US Army staff sergeant to die at the base this year. WATCH
Contreras, 40, was a drill sergeant candidate and served with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
The soldier had just begun the eighth week of his 10 training days and was missing for nearly 11 hours after failing to return from a solo land navigation course at the base, WSPA reported.
The course was supposed to run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., but when Contreras did not return by 2 p.m., a massive search was launched.
He was found unresponsive around 11pm on June 12 and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Las Vegas native was only about 164 feet from the course when his body was found, Maj. John Farrell, director of emergency services at Fort Jackson, told the outlet.
Staff Sgt. Jaime Contreras was a drill sergeant candidate at Fort Jackson when he died while taking a land navigation course. United States Army
The cause of Contreras’ death has not been released by Fort Jackson officials.
Fort Jackson is home to more than 3,500 active duty soldiers and is the primary installation for Army basic training, graduating about 45,000 new trainees each year, according to the military.
In 2021, a study surveyed 856 drill sergeants to determine how their workload affected their mental health.
Researchers found that 19% of drill sergeants suffered from depression, 27% from moderate to severe insomnia, 14% from generalized anxiety disorder, 48% from high fatigue, 32% from functional impairment, 35% from moderate alcohol abuse, 32% from inactivity . -task aggression, and 25% of low morale, the Walter Reed Institute of Military Research found.
A fort sign on the parade ground during the end of basic training ceremony at Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina. NYPOST
A typical work week for a drill sergeant consists of 15 hour days on “an average of 6.4 days per week” during the training cycle.
Drill sergeants serve at least two years in the role, with the study finding the level of intensity is “extreme, even in the Army.”
The study suggested policy changes, including increasing the number of drill sergeants to reduce workload and allow adequate time for recovery and sleep.
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