SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah soldier drowned last year due, at least in part, to an inadequate safety vest and a lack of protocols by U.S. Army special forces, according to an investigator’s report.
Staff Sgt. Paul L. Olmstead drowned Sept. 21, 2021, at Fort Campbell — an Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line. Olmstead, a member of the Utah National Guard’s 19th Special Forces Group, was wearing an Aqualung Scout Swimmer Vest. It has a carbon dioxide cartridge the swimmer can detonate to inflate the vest.
But Olmstead apparently lost consciousness and never had the opportunity to inflate the vest, according to a report FOX 13 obtained through a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
“…the primary contributing factor to SSG Olmstead’s death was the inadequacy of the Aqualung Scout Swimmer Vest,” the investigating officer wrote.
“…SSG Olmstead likely suffered a medical event that rendered him unconscious and unable to activate the [vest] as it is designed,” the investigator added.
He recommended Army special forces change vests and go to a programable model that will inflate when the vest – and the soldier in it – reaches a certain depth.
Olmstead, a 29-year-old father of two from West Valley City, Utah, was training to be a combat diver. To advance, Olmstead needed to swim 1,500 meters in 45 minutes in Fort Campbell’s Joe Swing Reservoir.
The report said all the equipment worn by the swimmers, including the inflatable vests, were inspected prior to the swim. One vest failed inspection and was replaced.
The report didn’t find fault with anyone on scene that day, but said policies didn’t mandate enough instructors and aid personnel be present. Those who were there had too many swimmers and assignments, the investigator wrote. (The Army redacted from the report the number of students swimming the reservoir that day.)
One witness in a safety boat said Olmstead swam past him and was perhaps 20 meters from the finish with a minute to go. Olmstead could be heard breathing heavily and “putting out incredible effort,” the witness said.
The witness said he looked away from Olmstead and toward other swimmers in the water. When he looked back in Olmstead’s direction, he was gone.
It all happened in a matter of “approximately 10 seconds.”
Instructors and students immediately began looking in the water. They also called 911.
A search and rescue team found Olmstead’s body the next day.
Lt. Col. Mike Burns, director of public affairs at Army Special Forces Operations Command, said in an email sent Thursday to FOX 13 the Army has already made adjustments to its open water swim. Those changes have included:
- Students now wear a buoy so they can be more visible in the water.
- There are more safety boats in the water.
- More personnel to observe and provide aid.
“The loss of SSG Paul Olmstead was an absolute tragedy,” Burns wrote, “and he will always be a valued member of our Army Special Operations Family.” A thorough investigation into his death was conducted. All of [the] investigation findings and recommendations are all taken into consideration for future training courses. We are continuously taking lessons learned and implementing measures where we can.”
The report says Olmstead entered the Utah National Guard in 2016. He attended a training course for combat divers in February 2021; he dropped out after aspirating on some water in a pool, the investigator wrote.
Olmstead resumed training on his own. In the summer of 2021, he completed 1,500 and 3,000 meter swims in Coronado Bay, the same body of water near San Diego that Navy Seals train. He also worked out in the pool at the recreation center in Kearns, Utah, two or three days a week.
Olmstead was medically cleared for the qualification exercises at Fort Campbell. The day before his death, Olmstead completed a 1,000 meter swim.