On Monday April 19, 2021 United States Army Spc. Abigail Jenks, 21, died in a Fort Bragg military exercise involving a Blackhawk helicopter.
Specialist Abigail was doing an airborne training operation. Specifically, the United States military says specialist Abigail was conducting a static-line jump from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter when she suffered a fatal injury. Specialist Abigail died after jumping from the Blackhawk helicopter. There was likely some sort of catastrophic failure.
Specialist Abigail was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team and was a fire support specialist serving as a forward observer in Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd BCT.
“Spc. Jenks was a dedicated Paratrooper, gifted forward observer, loyal friend, and talented artist who consistently made a tremendous impact on all around her. She will be dearly missed. We are ensuring every resource is available to her family and peers to help them during this difficult time,”
said Lt. Col. Christopher Walsh, commander of the 1-319th AFAR.
Specialist Abigail is originally from Gansevoort, New York, she enlisted in the U.S. Army in October of 2018. Specialist Abigail was assigned to Fort Bragg as a paratrooper in 2019 after advanced training at bases in Oklahoma and Georgia.
The awards and decorations that Specialist Abigail had included: the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Army Parachutist Badge.
The accident is still under investigation.
