23-Year-Old Soldier Stationed in Colorado Dead After Falling in Training Accident

“It is with an extremely heavy heart that I inform you of the passing of 1st Lt. Zachary Galli,” said Col. Brennan Fitzgerald

A 23-year-old U.S. Army soldier stationed in Colorado is dead after falling during a training accident at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Johnson, La. on Saturday, May 11, the service said, reports Military.com and Stars & Stripes.

Officials at Colorado’s Fort Carson announced the death of 1st Lt. Zachary Galli, assigned to the 749th Ordnance Company, 242nd Explosive Ordnance Battalion (EOD), in a press release on Monday, May 13.

“It is with an extremely heavy heart that I inform you of the passing of 1st Lt. Zachary Galli. Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of the Galli family, the 749th EOD Co., and the greater EOD community,” Col. Brennan Fitzgerald, commander of the 71st EOD, said in a statement.

Galli, a Williamsburg, Va. native, was participating in a non-combat training activity at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) when he died “as a result of a training accident.”

While Galli’s death remains under investigation, a source told Military.com that he “died in an incident related to a fall.” PEOPLE has reached out to Fort Carson for comment.

The Army states on its website that JRTC “focuses on improving unit readiness by providing highly realistic, stressful, joint and combined arms training across the full spectrum of conflict (current and future).”

The website adds that the “JRTC trains a multi-component force: About one-third of the Army’s Brigade Combat Teams, Army National Guard and Reserve units and their associated rotational unit enablers undergo the most realistic and relevant training today’s Army offers.”

According to KMGH-TV, Galli received many awards during his nearly two years of service, including the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Galli, a 2018 graduate from Lafayette High School, got his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Virginia in 2022, per The Virginian-Pilot.

“We extend our thoughts and condolences to Zachary’s loved ones,” a university spokesperson told the outlet in a statement.