FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — A soldier attending basic training died from a massive rush of blood to his penis after firing the M2 .50-caliber machine gun for the first time, sources confirmed today.
Pvt. Alvero Rojas was six weeks into basic training when his unit went to the range for familiarization fire with several of the Army's crew served weapons.
"Rojas enlisted to become an Admin Specialist but we take all of our basic trainees to the range to fire these weapons to give them an idea of what it's like," said Sgt. 1st Class Alexander Pitts, Rojas's lead drill sergeant. "Just because a soldier is slated to end up behind a desk doesn't mean they won't find themselves shooting a .50 or MK19 at some point."
Rojas's death was regretted by his entire basic training company.
