1 Special Ops Soldier Killed, 7 Injured in Fort Bragg Accident

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Fort Bragg (U.S. Army photo)
Fort Bragg (U.S. Army photo)

A training exercise involving demolitions killed one special operations soldier, Staff Sgt. Alexander P. Dalida, 32, of Dunstable, Massachusetts, and injured seven others at the Army's largest base Thursday.

The injured soldiers were taken to the base's Womack Army Medical Center for treatment, said Lt. Col. Rob Bockholt, a spokesman for the U.S. Army's Special Operations Command, which is based at Fort Bragg.

Bockholt said he could not describe the extent of the injuries or what caused them.

"There was an incident that occurred on one of the ranges," he said, adding that the command is investigating. "We're looking into exactly what happened."

The incident at Bragg is the latest training accident to result in injured military personnel.

Five Marines are in critical condition and 10 more are receiving medical care for burns after an amphibious assault vehicle erupted into fire during training at Camp Pendleton, California, on Wednesday morning.

Officials with 1st Marine Division said Wednesday evening that eight of the 15 Marines aboard the vehicle were medically evacuated to the Burn Center at University of California San Diego Health, with three Marines there in critical condition, and five Marines in serious condition.

Another four Marines were taken to University of California Irvine's Medical Center, where two remain in critical condition and the other two are receiving treatment, their condition unknown, officials said.

One Marine is in stable condition and being treated at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, and two more are being treated on base at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton with minor injuries.

The cause of Wednesday's AAV fire is not yet clear. Marine officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Fort Bragg is home to about 57,000 military personnel. It is the largest Army installation by population and covers about 161,000 acres.

Special Operations Command has about 23,000 soldiers spread over several sites.

-- Staff writer Hope Hodge Seck contributed to this report.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

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