Fort Bragg IDs 2 bodies found in military training area

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Officials at the Army’s largest base have identified the two men whose bodies were found in a training area this week.

Their bodies were found at Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Wednesday, and officials said their deaths were not related to official unit training.

A news release on Friday identified one of the men as Army veteran Timothy Dumas, 44, of Pinehurst, North Carolina. Dumas previously served at Fort Bragg, but no further information on him was available.

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command identified the second body as that of Master Sgt. William J. Lavigne II, 37, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company. His hometown was not available.

A separate news release from USASOC said Lavigne enlisted in the Army in 2001. In 2007, he graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) with a follow on assignment to the command. Lavigne deployed multiple times to Afghanistan and Iraq, the news release said.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command is continuing its investigation. No other information was available.

Fort Bragg, covering nearly 172,000 acres, is one of the world’s largest military complexes, according to its website. Located next to Fayetteville, North Carolina, it has approximately 57,000 military personnel, 11,000 civilian employees and 23,000 family members.