Click Here

Special Forces soldier killed by snake bites

Pfc. Norman M. Murburg

A Special Forces trainee died of multiple bites from a water moccasin during field training in June, Army officials said Wednesday.

Pfc. Norman M. Murburg, 20, was conducting the individual land navigation exercise in Hoffman training area, near Camp Mackall, on June 9 as a part of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection process conducted by the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, officials said.

Murburg reached the first point along the course but failed to check in at the next point or the assembly point at the end of the exercise, officials said.

Ben Abel, a spokesman at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School, said his body was found the next day, along with all of his personal equipment, including water and emergency equipment.

An autopsy ruled out heat or dehydration as a cause of death and determined a cottonmouth moccasin – one of six venomous snakes in North Carolina – bit Murburg.

Its bite destroys tissue and is fatal without medical intervention. Symptoms include extreme swelling, burred vision and vomiting.

Abel said Special Forces training includes wildlife safety, including identifying snakes. But, he said, "you're not always going to be aware of 100 percent of everything around you."

Nearly 500 soldiers spent 21 hours searching for Murburg, Abel said. None of his emergency devices, including a high-frequency radio tracker, had been activated.

“Pfc. Murburg’s death reinforces the dangerous nature of the training that our soldiers undertake to prepare themselves for the rigors of Special Forces,” Maj. Gen. Thomas Csrnko, commander of the Kennedy Special Warfare Center, said in a statement.

“We go out of our way to stress safety in all that we do, but there are some circumstances that are out of our control.”



38 Comments


Golo

Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.

You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.

View Comments View Comments

Photo Spotlight
*
*
*
*
*
*
[+] more photos | submit your photos
Report It
Send us your news photos, videos, tips and story ideas.
Submit Videos Submit Photos Submit Reports
  1. County Unemployment Rates
    North Carolina jobless rates

    View an interactive map with county unemployment numbers.

  2. Drought Map
    A year of N.C. Drought Maps

    View a time lapse animation of drought conditions during the last year.

  3. Twitter
    Follow WRAL News on Twitter

    Keep up with what the WRAL News team is doing on air and online with Twitter.

  4. taxes
    Search for missing IRS refunds

    The Internal Revenue Service released the names this week of more than 100,000 taxpayers who have not received their 2009 income tax refund.

  5. Gov. Mike Easley
    Easley investigation timeline

    View an interactive timeline of the Easley investigation.

Click Here