Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Paratrooper from Las Vegas killed during training at Fort Polk

FORT POLK, La. — The military says a U.S. Army paratrooper has died during an airborne training exercise at Fort Polk in Louisiana.

A news release from the soldier's division, the North Carolina-based 82nd Airborne, says Pvt. Joshua D. Phillips, 19, of Las Vegas, died during the exercise Thursday.

Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Cathy Wilkinson says Phillips died while parachuting during an exercise to simulate the seizure of an airstrip. The cause is under investigation and she couldn't elaborate.

Wilkinson says 2,000 service members were participating in training meant create realistic combat-like situations.

The release says Phillips joined the Army in 2014 and trained in Missouri and Georgia before reporting to the 82nd Airborne.

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