Summary: The Army has taken steps to improve the safety of training conditions since four students died of hypothermia during ranger training in a Florida swamp in 1995, but it needs to strengthen oversight of key safety controls to avoid such tragedies in the future. The Ranger Training Brigade has improved safety by developing systems to better monitor and predict swamp conditions. It has moved training exercises out of high-risk areas in the swamp, eliminated discretion to deviate from planned exercise locations, and incorporated the latest guidance on training safety. Evacuation procedures have been revised and rehearsed, new medevac helicopters and refueling capacity have been obtained, and medics have been assigned directly to the Brigade. In addition, GAO recommends that the Ranger Training Bridge be required to identify critical training safety controls at each location; that periodic safety inspections be conducted to ensure compliance with these controls; and that inspections of these controls be made periodically by groups outside the chain of command, such as the Army Inspector General.
