A 22-year-old U.S. Army ROTC cadet has died during a summer training exercise at Fort Knox, Kentucky, as a heatwave swept across parts of the South and Midwest. Neil Edara, from Ridgewood, New Jersey, became unresponsive during land navigation training on Thursday, according to the U.S. Army ROTC Cadet Command.
Edara, a student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick majoring in biology, was attending Cadet Summer Training as part of the 9th Regiment, Advanced Camp. He collapsed at the installation's land navigation site, where cadets practice determining locations and distances for travel and targeting. Medical attention was provided at the scene, and he was airlifted to the University of Louisville, where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of death is not immediately clear, and the incident is under investigation. Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Sorensen, professor of military science at Rutgers, described Edara as a dedicated and promising young leader. “His calm, collected demeanor and unwavering commitment to excellence left a lasting impact on everyone around him,” Sorensen said.
Temperatures at Fort Knox soared past 90 degrees Fahrenheit last week, with a heat advisory in effect until Wednesday. The National Weather Service advised staying hydrated and in air-conditioned spaces. Edara was also a volunteer with the Ridgewood Ambulance Corps before joining the cadets, according to Ridgewood Mayor Paul Vagianos, who called him “a very special young man.”
