A 21 year-old soldier and West Point graduate died Wednesday on his first day of U.S. Army Ranger school after becoming ill and taken to a hospital.
Second Lt. Michael Barros died after being treated for hyponatremia at a hospital near Fort Benning on the Georgia-Alabama border, according to Army officials. Hyponatremia is a condition where the level of sodium in the blood is too low and the level of water in the body is too high.
Barros fell ill on Monday, less than a month after reporting to Fort Benning on June 27 and served with the 199th Infantry Brigade, according to officials. In may, Barros graduated from the United States Military Academy.
“This is a tragic loss,” Lt. Co. Matthew Weber said in a statement. “While 2nd Lt. Parros was only with us for a short time, he showed so much potential and was the epitome of the kind of soldier you want to serve with. We are truly saddened to lose a member of our Army family.”
Parros was a quarterback for state champion Concord’s De La Salle High School football team and then later played football, hockey and soccer while at West Point, while also being a member of the Cultural Affairs club, Army officials said.
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