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Posted: 6/20/2015 1:31:57 PM EDT
Just found out a kid I was helping at the gym over the last 18 months, died of complications from heat stroke this Thursday, while at Fort Campbell. He was super out of shape and overweight when he first started coming to the gym, but worked his ass off to be able to go into the Army as an 11B, which was a huge deal to him. As far as I know the Army hasn't released any info yet, but his step-mom wrote the following:
"I received a panicked call from my husband yesterday at 4:00 in the afternoon telling me that his son, my stepson, who is the Army at Fort Campbell, KY was in the hospital on a ventilator. He suffered from severe heat Stroke. His entire body shut down. His body temp was 109. He is in a medical induced coma. His kidneys have shut down, his liver is damaged, he has a hole in his lung, they can't regulate his blood pressure. They tried to remove the ice bags and his body temp went right back up" View Quote Poor dude. He worked so fucking hard to get in shape and lost a TON of weight to get there. He was there for hours every night, kept to himself, stayed focused, and put in the hard work. Such a fucking bummer. Update 6/23 Link to full story here When Army Pvt. Kyle Swain set out on a six-mile march Thursday, it was part of the work he faced in his goal of working with helicopters.
That might be why he pushed himself so hard. Swain, 25, passed out during the march. He never regained consciousness and was declared dead at 10 p.m. Thursday in Nashville's TriStar Skyline Medical Center. Swain had been stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., since January, when he left his home in Millcreek Township for basic training. He went on to qualify for the Air Assault School there. Lt. Col. Brian DeSantis, a public affairs officer at Fort Campbell, said the medics who attended to Swain believed him to have suffered from a heat-related injury.The military will conduct an investigation into Swain's death. His family believes heat stroke was the likely cause. DeSantis said the march on Thursday was part of Swain's training for the air assault school. He was required to complete the march in 90 minutes while carrying more than 35 pounds of equipment. Swain was less than a half mile from the finish line when he lost consciousness, DeSantis said. Swain aspired to join the military from a young age. At 4 years old, he became enamored with helicopters after meeting a nurse on a medical helicopter. But until recently, Kyle Swain's weight made him ineligible to enlist in the military. Swain devoted himself to working out for five years leading up to his enlistment, his family said. Swain's father, Richard Swain, said that Kyle had shed more than 130 pounds by the time he qualified to join the military. "He learned everything there was to learn about fitness," Richard Swain said. During that time, Kyle Swain also worked as a volunteer firefighter at the Belle Valley Fire Department, where the department changed its rules to allow him to become a senior firefighter while still a student at McDowell Intermediate High School. Swain's parents said that his file at the fire department was two inches thick: full of certificates and awards for his service. View Quote |
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Quoted:
Just found out a kid I was helping at the gym over the last 18 months, died of complications from heat stroke this Thursday, while at Fort Campbell. He was super out of shape and overweight when he first started coming to the gym, but worked his ass off to be able to go into the army as an 11B, which was a huge deal to him. As far as I know the army hasn't released any info yet, but his step-mom wrote the following: "I received a panicked call from my husband yesterday at 4:00 in the afternoon telling me that his son, my stepson, who is the Army at Fort Campbell, KY was in the hospital on a ventilator. He suffered from severe heat Stroke. His entire body shut down. His body temp was 109. He is in a medical induced coma. His kidneys have shut down, his liver is damaged, he has a hole in his lung, they can't regulate his blood pressure. They tried to remove the ice bags and his body temp went right back up" View Quote Poor dude. He worked so fucking hard to get in shape and lost a TON of weight to get there. He was there for hours every night, kept to himself, stayed focused, and put in the hard work. Such a fucking bummer. View Quote Oh wow. . . sorry to hear that. Awful series of events. |
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11b does OSUT at Campbell?
Sorry for I hear about your buddy OP. ![]() |
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Quoted:
Just found out a kid I was helping at the gym over the last 18 months, died of complications from heat stroke this Thursday, while at Fort Campbell. He was super out of shape and overweight when he first started coming to the gym, but worked his ass off to be able to go into the army as an 11B, which was a huge deal to him. As far as I know the army hasn't released any info yet, but his step-mom wrote the following: "I received a panicked call from my husband yesterday at 4:00 in the afternoon telling me that his son, my stepson, who is the Army at Fort Campbell, KY was in the hospital on a ventilator. He suffered from severe heat Stroke. His entire body shut down. His body temp was 109. He is in a medical induced coma. His kidneys have shut down, his liver is damaged, he has a hole in his lung, they can't regulate his blood pressure. They tried to remove the ice bags and his body temp went right back up" View Quote Poor dude. He worked so fucking hard to get in shape and lost a TON of weight to get there. He was there for hours every night, kept to himself, stayed focused, and put in the hard work. Such a fucking bummer. View Quote Damn ![]() |
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He went out trying, he'd made it.
Please don't blame yourself, he could have died sitting on a couch rather than living his dream....... ![]() |
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11b does OSUT at Campbell? Sorry for I hear about your buddy OP. ![]() View Quote I'm not sure. I wasn't in the .mil and don't know how the Army training thing works...I just know he started around January, was going to be an 11B, and died this week at Campbell. I had not spoken with him after he left for training this winter. |
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Well some people are getting relieved for that. View Quote Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. |
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Wow that's the sort of thing that hits you hard. My sympathies go out to his family and friends.
Thou I do have a medical question. How do you get a hole in your lung from heat stroke? |
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Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well some people are getting relieved for that. Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. he had finished training and reported to his unit. Team leader and squad leader should keep an eye on the newbs to make sure they are drinking enough. sometimes you go out for training with what is on you and youngsters will try to save their water. i did it once when I was AG in the hills. It was a long hump. the walker was scared shitless because a few of us fell out and it was his idea to do 12K rough terrain with no water resupply and only 2 1 quarts. |
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Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well some people are getting relieved for that. Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. They are HUGE on heat casualty stuff, especially in schools, the instructors are supposed to be making sure the students are all drinking water and watching for early signs of heat stroke. I see he wasn't in school anymore which makes it a little more understandable but some people are still in some shit most likely. |
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I'm not sure. I wasn't in the .mil and don't know how the Army training thing works...I just know he started around January, was going to be an 11B, and died this week at Campbell. I had not spoken with him after he left for training this winter. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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11b does OSUT at Campbell? Sorry for I hear about your buddy OP. ![]() I'm not sure. I wasn't in the .mil and don't know how the Army training thing works...I just know he started around January, was going to be an 11B, and died this week at Campbell. I had not spoken with him after he left for training this winter. If he started in January, he was done with OSUT. Damn. To survive infantry school... ![]() |
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Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well some people are getting relieved for that. Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. IMO, that's partially a failure of the training cadre. You're supposed to train your guys, not kill them... and somebody should have been out there monitoring the recruits. This isn't an unknown problem when doing PT out in the heat. I've seen guys get heat stroke while out doing PT, and people lost careers over it. |
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Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well some people are getting relieved for that. Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. Drill instructors are supposed to watch for symptoms of heat injuries. |
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Heat exhaustion leads to heat stroke which can be fatal (obviously).
There are signs of both that those trained can see. |
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They are HUGE on heat casualty stuff, especially in schools, the instructors are supposed to be making sure the students are all drinking water and watching for early signs of heat stroke. I see he wasn't in school anymore which makes it a little more understandable but some people are still in some shit most likely. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well some people are getting relieved for that. Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. They are HUGE on heat casualty stuff, especially in schools, the instructors are supposed to be making sure the students are all drinking water and watching for early signs of heat stroke. I see he wasn't in school anymore which makes it a little more understandable but some people are still in some shit most likely. That makes sense. I have a few friends who went through the PA State Trooper academy, and their instructors were psycho about checking their hydration...like down to checking their piss to make sure it wasn't dark. They were basically told when to hydrate and were expected to drink x amount of water every x minutes. They said it was annoying, but I guess that's how you prevent and avoid these things from happening. |
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Quoted: He was 25 and had been an EMT and volunteer firefighter prior to going in. He was pretty out of shape and a number of people told him flat out he couldn't get down enough in wight to join. He put his head down, worked hard, and made it happen. https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1653512_1649110405309281_7364734458297879943_n.jpg?oh=e43ab501cc8598e9249de2b8c1c1146f&oe=55E7747D View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: How old was he? He was 25 and had been an EMT and volunteer firefighter prior to going in. He was pretty out of shape and a number of people told him flat out he couldn't get down enough in wight to join. He put his head down, worked hard, and made it happen. https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1653512_1649110405309281_7364734458297879943_n.jpg?oh=e43ab501cc8598e9249de2b8c1c1146f&oe=55E7747D Sounds like a great man. I'm sorry to hear this. ![]() |
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Did he just get there? What unit was he with? View Quote I'm not sure...I really don't know much, as I hadn't spoken with him after he left for training. His name was Kyle Swain, if you want to look into it some more. The heat stroke thing hasn't been confirmed by the Army, from what I've read. All I've seen is that the Army is investigating and the coroner hasn't given any info out. |
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I am so sorry for your loss. My deepest condolences to, you, his family and friends.
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Sorry to hear about the kid. It's so easy to over heat during that sort of stuff.
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Well some people are getting relieved for that. View Quote Yep. In basic I had the flu, during a formation I passed out, the hospital classed it as a possible heat injury because I was dehydrated, and they nearly relieved people over that. For the remainder of the training cycle if anyone on ft Knox was thirsty we all drank water and were "educated" as to the signs of heat exhaustion/stroke constantly. I remember if I so much as tripped on a rock or stumbled I was going to be wet within seconds. The drills were scared they were going to lose their positions. |
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If he was in his regular unit, just out in the field, he generally would not have had anyone who would have been responsible for ensuring he was hydrated other than his team leader. Even his team leader would likely not have any more ability to ensure his hydration than to have just said, "make sure you drink water."
Granted it was many years ago (over a decade), but while I was there, deaths occurred monthly. We often were in the field with no water resupply available. There were a few times I got pretty worried about my own safety. I think that there was a failure at that time for squad leaders and below to think about the amount of time that would be necessary to complete a mission, and to factor in how much water each person would need. There was certainly a failure on the individual soldier's part. I can remember thinking after the fact that I knew I was going to be gone for 6+ hours, but would only take two quarts of water, and would fail to think of this the next time I'd head out. Personally carried camelbacks/canteens are not enough water for one solder for more than two hours or so. ETA: all that to say, it's tragic, preventable shit that shouldn't be happening. Young troops don't think about themselves; they're counting on leaders to do that for them. |
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They are HUGE on heat casualty stuff, especially in schools, the instructors are supposed to be making sure the students are all drinking water and watching for early signs of heat stroke. I see he wasn't in school anymore which makes it a little more understandable but some people are still in some shit most likely. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well some people are getting relieved for that. Who would be getting busted for this? If he kept his mouth shut, didn't complain, and pushed through as much as he could, how would they have known? As I said, I wasn't in the military so I have no idea how these things work. They are HUGE on heat casualty stuff, especially in schools, the instructors are supposed to be making sure the students are all drinking water and watching for early signs of heat stroke. I see he wasn't in school anymore which makes it a little more understandable but some people are still in some shit most likely. At Drum heads would roll up and down the chain for cold injuries. |
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If he was in his regular unit, just out in the field, he generally would not have had anyone who would have been responsible for ensuring he was hydrated other than his team leader. Even his team leader would likely not have any more ability to ensure his hydration than to have just said, "make sure you drink water." Granted it was many years ago (over a decade), but while I was there, deaths occurred monthly. We often were in the field with no water resupply available. There were a few times I got pretty worried about my own safety. I think that there was a failure at that time for squad leaders and below to think about the amount of time that would be necessary to complete a mission, and to factor in how much water each person would need. There was certainly a failure on the individual soldier's part. I can remember thinking after the fact that I knew I was going to be gone for 6+ hours, but would only take two quarts of water, and would fail to think of this the next time I'd head out. Personally carried camelbacks/canteens are not enough water for one solder for more than two hours or so. ETA: all that to say, it's tragic, preventable shit that shouldn't be happening. Young troops don't think about themselves; they're counting on leaders to do that for them. View Quote People dying monthly from heat injuries? Why wouldn't you guys just say "hey let's carry more water"? We routinely carried enough water for several days if we'd be away from resupply, like nearly half our initial ruck load out was water for certain PEXs. |
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109 core temp?
![]() His leaders (or lack of it) failed him. 100% preventable. |
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Quoted: Just found out a kid I was helping at the gym over the last 18 months, died of complications from heat stroke this Thursday, while at Fort Campbell. He was super out of shape and overweight when he first started coming to the gym, but worked his ass off to be able to go into the Army as an 11B, which was a huge deal to him. As far as I know the Army hasn't released any info yet, but his step-mom wrote the following: "I received a panicked call from my husband yesterday at 4:00 in the afternoon telling me that his son, my stepson, who is the Army at Fort Campbell, KY was in the hospital on a ventilator. He suffered from severe heat Stroke. His entire body shut down. His body temp was 109. He is in a medical induced coma. His kidneys have shut down, his liver is damaged, he has a hole in his lung, they can't regulate his blood pressure. They tried to remove the ice bags and his body temp went right back up" View Quote Poor dude. He worked so fucking hard to get in shape and lost a TON of weight to get there. He was there for hours every night, kept to himself, stayed focused, and put in the hard work. Such a fucking bummer. View Quote |
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Sad news and My heart breaks for his family. Wonder how many folks are getting relieved over this..
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Having been the guy behind the guy in line for chow who fell out with heat stroke at Benning in basic training, I can relate. So sad and utterly preventable
![]() Our guy made it because we had to haul around coolers with ice, water and iced sheets EVERYWHERE and the Drill Sgt's were on top of it immediately. His core temp spiked at 105.3. This was July in Georgia and week 1 of basic. He was never the same and was granted a medical discharge after our rotation was through. Drink water, drink water, drink water! It's a no-BS way to prevent this. ![]() |
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View Quote He earned his blue cord. He was likely with his unit. |
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He was 25 and had been an EMT and volunteer firefighter prior to going in. He was pretty out of shape and a number of people told him flat out he couldn't get down enough in weight to join. He put his head down, worked hard, and made it happen. https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1653512_1649110405309281_7364734458297879943_n.jpg?oh=e43ab501cc8598e9249de2b8c1c1146f&oe=55E7747D View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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How old was he? He was 25 and had been an EMT and volunteer firefighter prior to going in. He was pretty out of shape and a number of people told him flat out he couldn't get down enough in weight to join. He put his head down, worked hard, and made it happen. https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1653512_1649110405309281_7364734458297879943_n.jpg?oh=e43ab501cc8598e9249de2b8c1c1146f&oe=55E7747D Goddamn tragedy. Fuck. ![]() |
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That really fucking sucks.
RIP.
Good number of guys had red tape around their ear plugs when I was at Benning. Heat Cat 5 is no joke. |
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Just found out a kid I was helping at the gym over the last 18 months, died of complications from heat stroke this Thursday, while at Fort Campbell. He was super out of shape and overweight when he first started coming to the gym, but worked his ass off to be able to go into the Army as an 11B, which was a huge deal to him. As far as I know the Army hasn't released any info yet, but his step-mom wrote the following: "I received a panicked call from my husband yesterday at 4:00 in the afternoon telling me that his son, my stepson, who is the Army at Fort Campbell, KY was in the hospital on a ventilator. He suffered from severe heat Stroke. His entire body shut down. His body temp was 109. He is in a medical induced coma. His kidneys have shut down, his liver is damaged, he has a hole in his lung, they can't regulate his blood pressure. They tried to remove the ice bags and his body temp went right back up" View Quote Poor dude. He worked so fucking hard to get in shape and lost a TON of weight to get there. He was there for hours every night, kept to himself, stayed focused, and put in the hard work. Such a fucking bummer. View Quote Sorry man, I'm sure it was a shock to say the least ![]() I went through Marine boot almost 40 years ago way back then. I had been a Golden Gloves boxer in high school and also studies Martial Arts (Don Murray school of Kempo and other martial arts located in Ft. Worth Tx at the time. One thing is, since about ten years old I've had to watch my weight also and have had to stay active. Before boot camp, I was a little indulgent with the brewski and what not and gained about twenty extra pounds more than I should have been carrying so I became a candidate for the (fat body) weight lose and conditioning platoon which was located near the motivation platoon section at MCRD San Diego Ca, at the time. The man told me if I could do push-ups and pull-ups to his satisfaction I could indeed return to platoon #2026 second battalion and, "carry on." Popped them out and then stood at locked body until they were finished with everyone. Senior Drill Instructor put me on half-rations but by the third phase of marine training, I got any amount of food wanted (went from 190 to 155 by then which was within my middle weight class in Golden Gloves). Before that, a green belt Drill Instructor called me, "Gomer," for a while and I can't say that I liked that noise very much either... ![]() ![]() Saying though, their was one marine recruit who loss 165 pounds while he was there. Heard they had to do surgery on him to remove skin. Some sort of special enlistment program the Corps had going at one time I would find out latter. Again, sorry about your friend.. Jim |
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