A Marine sergeant on reserve duty died after he collapsed during a physical fitness test in Florida last month, according to the service and a Naval Safety Command report.
Sgt. Gordon Reed, a motor vehicle operator with 4th Marine Logistics Group, collapsed at Navy Reserve Center Orlando on June 24 during a PFT and was transported to a local hospital where he died, according to the safety report and a statement from a Marine Forces Reserve spokesperson on Wednesday.
His death is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Marine Forces Reserve is also conducting a safety investigation, and the spokesperson, 1st Lt. Quiarra Barros, said that a third probe — known as a command investigation — will begin once NCIS has completed its inquiry.
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Barros said that Reed’s cause of death has not yet been determined, and did not say when asked whether other factors, such as weather, heat or hydration, contributed to his collapse. She declined to provide Reed’s age, though public records suggest he was around 30 years old.
“I can confirm that NCIS is conducting a thorough investigation into the death of Sgt. Gordon Reed, as we do for any non-combat, medically unattended deaths of Department of the Navy service members,” said Darwin Lam, a spokesperson for the law enforcement agency. “Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing.”
Barros also said Marine Forces Reserve could not comment on the investigation.
“Care was administered directly from an on-site corpsman who immediately facilitated transfer to a nearby urgent care,” Barros said, adding that Reed was transported via ambulance to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
She said that Reed’s next of kin was notified of his death the same day it occurred. Military.com attempted to contact members of Reed’s family and a close associate on Wednesday, but was unsuccessful.
A GoFundMe started for Reed’s family described him as “not just a Marine” but “a beloved husband, father, son, friend and patriot who devoted his life to being the best at everything he did.”
Reed’s death was referenced in a Naval Safety Command Mishap Statistics report, a record of Navy and Marine Corps incidents that is routinely updated by the command, though his name was not included in the “short narratives” description of the incident.
The Marine Corps often publishes information about service member deaths, usually in the form of a service news release, including fatalities involving training accidents and those connected to physical fitness events. It did not do so in this case, though Marine Forces Reserve identified Reed when asked about the fatality noted in the safety report.
“We understand the importance of keeping the public informed. In this case, we chose to wait until the investigation was concluded to ensure that what we released was both correct and comprehensive,” Barros said. “Due to the unexpectedness of the incident, we wanted to avoid releasing incomplete information.”
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