A Chief Warrant Officer 2 assigned to U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, Republic of Korea, and TDY to Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah, Georgia, died in an off-duty water-related mishap 18 October 2020 on Tybee Island, Georgia, at 1510 local. After eating lunch on the beach, the Soldier walked out to a sandbar until he was waist deep in the water. His friends lost sight of the Soldier and notified a lifeguard, who began searching. At approximately 1700, the lifeguard found the Soldier unresponsive in the water. The county coroner pronounced the Soldier dead at 1829. No alcohol use was reported; however, Tybee Island had red beach flags posted, indicating high-hazard conditions.
Since FY16, the Army has lost an average of eight Soldiers a year to off-duty water-related mishaps. This tragedy was the first fatal off-duty water-related mishap of FY21 and below the number of off-duty water-related fatalities from this time last year.
Safety tips for swimming at the beach:
- Never swim alone and, when possible, swim at a lifeguard-protected beach.
- Obey all instructions and orders from lifeguards.
- Make sure you understand the significance of warning flags and understand that the absence of red flags does not assure safe conditions.
- When swimming at an unguarded beach, be cautious at all times. If in doubt, don’t go out!
- When caught in a rip current, remain calm to think clearly and conserve your energy:
* Don’t fight a rip current. If you are unable to swim out of it, float or tread water calmly. Then swim parallel to the shoreline.
* When certain you are out of the current, swim toward shore.
* If you are still unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself: face the shore, wave your arms and yell for help.