Army IDs foreign soldier killed in parachuting death over Fort Bragg

The paratrooper who died last week in an 82nd Airborne Division training exercise at Fort Bragg was visiting from the Mexican army.

Sgt. Arturo Godinez Valenzuela, 31, died of multiple blunt force injuries during a high-elevation fall during a parachute training incident on July 14, according to a North Carolina death certificate obtained by Army Times.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation, according to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Joe Buccino. This may mark the first time a foreign soldier was killed during training at Bragg with the 82nd Airborne Division. Buccino could find no previous record.

Maj. Gen. Richard Clarke, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, released a statement:

"On behalf of the entire All American Division, I express my deepest sympathies to Sergeant Valenzuela's Family and to his brothers and sisters in arms. Sergeant Valenzuela was part of the Family of Paratroopers and his loss is felt by all of us in the community. We know that airborne operations are inherently dangerous but we know we must be prepared to do them. Sergeant Valenzuela died preparing for combat operations and his death is a great sacrifice to his country and our shared values. We are committed to the greatest levels of transparency with our partners throughout the investigation process."
Mexico’s defense department did not immediately respond to an Army Times email request for a statement and additional details about Godinez Valenzuela’s service.

The sergeant was participating in an exercise with nearly 340 paratroopers. The operation was cancelled in-progress after his fall; 108 completed their jump. The time of death was listed on the death report as 4:32 pm.

Buccino said the soldier was using a T-11 parachute, a new parachute involved in five training deaths of U.S. soldiers since 2011. Root causes have included improper exits from the aircraft, a poorly-secured rucksack that slashed another soldier’s shoot, and an improperly routed static line creating a towed jumper, according to investigations.

The U.S. Army says it conducts 60,000 jumps per year.