Army Ranger Training: Safety Improvements Need to Be Institutionalized.

In February 1995, four students from the Armys Ranger Training Brigade died of hypothermia while training in a Florida swamp. The Armys investigation of the accident concluded that a number of problems contributed to the students deaths, including the loss of important lessons learned about safety controls built up over the years, shortages of personnel, and undocumented safety responsibilities. The Fiscal Year 1996 National Defense Authorization Act requires us to assess the implementation and effectiveness of all corrective actions taken by the Army. This report provides our preliminary assessment of 1 the status of all of the Armys corrective actions, 2 the adequacy of Army oversight to ensure that the corrective actions instituted after the accident will be sustained in the future, 3 the Armys progress in implementing the authorization acts mandate to increase Brigade staffing to 90 percent of requirements, and 4 the Armys progress in establishing safety cell organizations at the Brigade.