FORT DRUM, New York (WWNY) – The commander of the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team died suddenly earlier this week.
Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Fielding, 52, died of natural causes Sunday.
LTC Fielding was conducting physical training Sunday afternoon and collapsed, according to 10th Mountain Division officials. Despite lifesaving efforts, first by nearby soldiers and then by Fort Drum emergency services, LTC Fielding “succumbed to his sudden illness,” Fort Drum’s Public Affairs office said in an emailed statement.
The 10th Mountain Division’s commander, Brigadier General Milford Beagle Jr., tweeted “Our Mountain team is deeply saddened by this loss.”
Our Mountain team is deeply saddened by this loss. 🙏🏾 Please keep the Fielding family and our Soldiers in your prayers. https://t.co/Xe6bH7fZ0W
— BG Milford H. Beagle, Jr. (@Beags_Beagle) July 21, 2021
LTC Fielding reportedly took command of the 2nd Battalion earlier this year, after being stationed in Germany.
Benjamin Fielding’s career with the military took him around the world and to some of its most troubled places.
He deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to his obituary.
He joined the Army in 1992, and was commissioned as an officer in 2001.
He was a wrestler, a boxer and coached both his own children and in the community.
LTC Fielding is survived by his wife Jolene, sons Bennie and Brogan, and daughters McKinley and Beatrice, as well as his parents, a brother and a sister.
Arrangements are with Bezanilla-McGraw Funeral Home.
Read the full obituary for LTC Fielding here.
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