A senior sergeant in the 75th Ranger Regiment was killed recently while participating in free-fall parachute training in Arizona.
Sgt. 1st Class Ethan Carpenter, a reconnaissance specialist assigned to the Ranger Regiment's Special Troops Battalion, died March 15 while conducting "routine military free-fall training," according to a March 20 Army Special Operations Command news release.
The release did not provide any further details about what may have caused Carpenter's death.
"Sgt. First Class Ethan Carpenter was an exemplary soldier and Ranger leader, and a dedicated husband and father," Col. Joseph Ewers, commander of the Regimental Special Troops Battalion, said in the release. "He did the toughest jobs well and was the consummate team member when it counted the most, both in garrison training and in deployed combat. He represented our Nation's best, and we'll miss him dearly."
Carpenter, a native of Trumansburg, New York, entered the Army August 31, 2007, according to the release. After completing one station unit training, Basic Airborne Course, and the Ranger Indoctrination Program at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was then assigned to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield.
Carpenter initially served as an assistant machine gunner and then progressed to team leader and squad leader, the release states. He deployed to combat eight times, once to Iraq and seven times to Afghanistan before he was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion in June of 2017, the release states.
Carpenter's awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, Joint Service Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Ranger Tab, Military Freefall Parachutist Badge, Senior Parachutists Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, and Combat Infantryman Badge.
-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
