Army identifies chaplain in training who collapsed and died at Fort Jackson
A U.S. Army chaplain in training at Fort Jackson died Monday, according to officials.
The Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course student collapsed during a morning physical training run at the military installation in the Columbia area, Army officials said in a news release. The student was taken to MUSC Health where he was later pronounced dead, according to the release.
The Army identified 2nd Lt. Pascal Buma, a 38-year-old member of the Oklahoma National Guard, as the soldier who died. The Army has not announced a cause of death.
Buma was a student at Fort Jackson’s Institute for Religious Leadership, according to the release.
After Buma collapsed, instructors and students provided aid until Fort Jackson EMS arrived and took him to the hospital, officials said.
“It is with great sorrow that we mourn the loss of one of our own,” USA-IRL Commandant, Chaplain Col. Louis DelTufo said in the release. “We ask for your prayers for the family, fellow students and our staff here at the Institute.”
Rather than go through basic training, chaplains and chaplain candidates attend the 12-week Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Jackson, according to the Army. The course is an introduction to non-combatant common core skills, but it does involve field training that includes “combat survival,” the Army said.
The Army has called the Institute for Religious Leadership at Fort Jackson the “Heart and home” of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps.
Fort Jackson is the nation’s largest military basic training base, with more than 50,000 recruits assigned there each year to train to be soldiers.
At least three members of the Army based at Fort Jackson died in 2023.
In June, Army Sgt. Jaime Contreras died during a training exercise at Fort Jackson.
In December, two drill sergeants were found dead at Fort Jackson in little more than a week-long span.
On Dec. 8, Staff Sgt. Allen M. Burtram, a 34-year-old with 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, was discovered shortly after he failed to report for work, according to the Army.
The body of Staff Sgt. Zachary L. Melton, a 30-year-old with the 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, was discovered Dec. 16, Army officials said.
There was no information connecting the deaths of the drill sergeants at Fort Jackson.
