---
title: "Marine Corps Active-Duty Non-Combat Deaths On The Rise Again"
date: "2018-09-10"
modified: "2018-09-10"
authors:
  - name: "Jeff Schogol"
    job_title: "Senior Pentagon Reporter"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jeff-schogol/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-corps-non-combat-deaths/"
categories:
  - "Analysis"
  - "Marine Corps"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "News"
---

# Marine Corps Active-Duty Non-Combat Deaths On The Rise Again

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/18990252-1.jpg>)

The Marine Corps has suffered the highest number of non-combat related active-duty deaths in three years, branch officials told Task & Purpose on Monday.

- So far, 123 active-duty Marines have been killed off the battlefield in fiscal 2018, which ends on Sept. 30, according to Manpower & Reserve Affairs. No Marines have been killed in combat so far this fiscal year, according to data from [the Defense Manpower Data Center.](<https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/pages/report_oef_month.xhtml>)
- The latest fatality was Sgt. Christopher Truax Jr., a food specialist with Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, who was shot in Lemon Grove, California, on Sept. 7, according to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
- [The San Diego Sheriff’s Department](<https://www.sdsheriff.net/>) has ruled the Traux's death as a homicide, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is assisting the investigation into the Marines' death.
- Active-duty non-combat deaths fell from 123 in fiscal 2015 to 104 in fiscal 2016, a decrease of 15.4%, according to Manpower & Reserve Affairs. But those deaths jumped back up to 121 during fiscal 2017. To put these numbers in context, fiscal 2016 was the only year when non-combat deaths were not above 120, indicating that the numbers could have been unusually low that year.
- In November 2016, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller [ordered a one-day pause in operations](<https://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/11/09/all-marines-ordered-to-pause-operations-to-improve-safety.html>) after a total of 152 Marines were killed in the prior fiscal year – only one of whom was killed in combat.

**WATCH NEXT:**

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/image-placeholder-title-1544.png>)

## Author
Jeff Schogol is the senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. He reports on both the Defense Department as a whole as well as individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/jdschogol/>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-schogol-188a9317/>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/JeffSchogol>)