-Caveat Lector-

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/foto/news/content/1999/tx99sep/n11sold1.htm

Saturday, September 11, 1999

Third soldier dies while training

                      Army officials order
                      safety review

                      By J.S. Newton
                      Staff writer
                      The U.S. Army Special Operations
                      Command has had another fatal training
                      accident involving a Fort Bragg soldier. It
                      is the third training death in as many days
                      for Fort Bragg-based special operations
                      forces.

                      ��It�s all in the hands of God what happens
                      to us every day,�� said Carol Darby, a
                      spokeswoman for USASOC.

                      Following the incidents, the command
                      ordered a thorough worldwide review of
                      all of its safety precautions.

                      Two soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the
                      3rd Special Forces Group died Tuesday
                      night when they were swept away during
                      a water training exercise in the Savannah
                      River, Ga.

                      On Friday, officials identified 40-year-old
                      Lt. Col. Timothy A. Boyles as the second
                      victim from the river accident. He was
                      commander of the 1st Battalion.

                      The identity of the first victim, Sgt. Eric
                      Ellingson, was revealed Thursday.

                      The most recent fatality occurred
                      Thursday night when 36-year-old Master
                      Sgt. Gaetano Cutino died on a helicopter
                      insertion exercise near Sicily Drop Zone on
                      Fort Bragg.

                      He apparently died from injuries sustained
                      while ��exiting from an MH-6 ��Little Bird��
                      helicopter,�� military officials said. Cutino
                      was assigned to the U.S. Army Special
                      Operations Command.

                      Fran Gull, a Superior Court judge from
                      Fort Wayne, Ind., was Cutino�s sister.

                      She said her brother was a John Wayne
                      fanatic and former high school football
                      player. But what he loved most was his
                      family and his job.

                      ��He loved soldiering,�� she said. ��He was a
                      wonderful father to his three kids, and he
                      was a wonderful husband to his wife.��

                      Adding to an already tragic week for
                      USASOC, military officials announced
                      Friday that an Army Ranger had
                      accidentally died in Germany from a
                      gunshot wound to the chest.

                      Sgt. Jamey Dimase, who was 26, of the 3rd
                      Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort
                      Benning, Ga. was participating in
                      marksmanship training at the time of his
                      death, military officials said.

                      Local military officials said there is no
                      relationship between the rash of accidents.
                      ��It�s just a coincidence,�� said Jimmy Dean,
                      a spokesman for the Special Forces
                      Association in Fayetteville. ��There might
                      not be another (death) in five years.��

                      Dean said he and a group of retired Green
                      Berets had been discussing the river death
                      Friday morning. He said he and other
                      retired Green Berets all have drawn the
                      same conclusions.

                      ��It�s just one of those things,�� he said.
                      ��When you conduct training, you are
                      going to have accidents.��

                      He said special operations work requires
                      training that is realistic.

                      ��Safety is a big part,�� he added. ��But it
                      still happens.��

                      Nevertheless, the commander of the
                      United States Army Special Operations
                      Command, Lt. Gen. William Tangney,
                      ordered a comprehensive safety review ��at
                      all levels�� under his command, Darby
                      said.

                      Darby said Tangney wants to assure all
                      soldiers are reminded of safeguard
                      requirements and that commanders
                      emphasize risk management during
                      planning and execution of their training.

                      Tangney�s jurisdiction stretches across
                      more than 50 areas throughout the world.
                      It is not known how long the review
                      would take, she said.

                      Darby said accidents like these hit the
                      tightly knit Special Operations community
                      hard.

                      ��It�s like losing a member of their family,��
                      she said.

                      The commander        |

                      Boyles began his job as commander of 1st
                      Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group
                      (Airborne) in June.

                      He was commissioned in the Army in 1983
                      after completing ROTC at West Virginia
                      State College. He completed the Special
                      Forces Qualification course in 1989.

                      He is survived by his wife, Tina L. Boyles,
                      and daughter, Alexandra, both of
                      Fayetteville. He is also survived by his
                      mother, Johnnye F. Boyles of Charleston,
                      W.Va.

                      Husband and father        |

                      Cutino was from North Reading, Maine.
                      The Special Forces senior sergeant entered
                      the Army in August 1980. He graduated
                      from the Special Forces Qualification
                      Course in March 1989.

                      Cutino has had several positions in special
                      operations units including: 1st Battalion,
                      75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army
                      Airfield, Ga.; 1st Battalion, 1st Special
                      Forces Group (Airborne), Okinawa, Japan;
                      and 1st Special Warfare Training Group,
                      U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special
                      Warfare Center and School here.

                      His awards and decorations include two
                      Meritorious Service Medals, three Army
                      Commendation Medals, two Army
                      Achievement Medals and six awards of the
                      Army Good Conduct Medal. Cutino
                      earned the Ranger and Special Forces Tabs
                      as well as the Military Freefall
                      Jumpmaster and Parachutist badges. He
                      was also authorized to wear various
                      parachutists wings from Korea, Thailand,
                      the Philippines, Poland and Australia.

                      The military would not say specifically
                      what he did. His sister said he seldom
                      discussed his job because of its clandestine
                      nature.

                      ��He didn�t talk much about his work
                      because of what he did,�� she said. ��But he
                      loved jumping.��

                      He is survived by his wife, Kathleen M.
                      Cutino and three children -- Vincent,
                      Anthony, and Nicholas -- all of Fort Bragg.

                          Funeral arrangements are being made
                          for Ellingson at the Smith Funeral
                          Chapel, 120 N. 26th St., in Billings,
                          Mont. A memorial service will be at 2
                          p.m. Wednesday at the John F.
                          Kennedy Chapel on Fort Bragg.

                      Arrangements for the other soldiers are
                      pending.



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