Army identifies sergeant killed in accident

The Army identified a Schofield Barracks soldier killed in a training accident Thursday in the Kahuku area as Sgt. Renardo Deshun Dukes, 26, of Pachuta, Miss.

Dukes was assigned to the 65th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. The unit has “sappers” who clear obstacles and mines and also utilizes heavy construction equipment.

The Army, citing an ongoing investigation, declined to specify what task Dukes was engaged in when he died. There was no helicopter-related accident.

A combat engineer, Dukes enlisted in August 2010, the Army said. He previously served in Germany and Colorado, and moved to Schofield Barracks in December 2014.

Dukes, who deployed twice to Afghanistan, in 2011 and 2013, serving a total of 20 months, died as a result of injuries in the Kahuku training area as part of Lightning Forge, one of the 25th Infantry Division’s biggest exercises, the Army said.

The exercise, which runs Oct. 28 to Sunday, is focused on training the approximately 4,000 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade but includes about 10,000 Hawaii soldiers in total including helicopter and support roles, the Army said. Live fire is typically not used in the Kahuku training area.