--- title: "Marine killed in live-fire training identified [Updated]" description: "Marine Joseph D. Whaley died at School of Infantry-West during a night live-fire exercise. The Marine Corps says an investigation is ongoing." date: "2023-08-19" modified: "2023-08-19" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-killed-in-live-fire-training-identified/" categories: - "Marine Corps" - "Military Branches" - "News" tags: - "death" --- # Marine killed in live-fire training identified \[Updated\] ![]() *Joseph Whaley was training at School of Infantry-West when he died on Aug. 17. (Photo via Facebook)* The Marine who [died during a night live-fire exercise]() on Thursday has been identified. Lance Corporal Joseph D. Whaley, from Tennessee, was killed earlier this week while training at School of Infantry-West at Marine Corps Base [Camp Pendleton](), according to Marine Corps Training Command. Whaley was in his fourth week of training in the 13-week-long Basic Reconnaissance Course. The exact circumstances that led to his death have not been revealed, and the incident at the night live-fire training exercise is under investigation. Marine Corps Training Command said that it is in “full cooperation” with the probe. However no other updates were given. [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.** Whaley was from Columbia, Tennessee and graduated high school in 2022, according to local news outlets. According to the Marine Corps, Whaley’s military training included rifleman training at the U.S. Marine Corps School of Infantry East, at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Recruit Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. At the time of his death he was listed as an infantry student. The Marine’s death at SOI-West came only a month after the school’s Command Sergeant Major was [relieved of duty](). School of Infantry-West is one of two hubs nearly all Marines report to for combat training following boot camp. ***Update: 8/19/2023:** This post has been updated with additional information on Whaley's training history.* ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Air Force Combat Controllers** [**might scrap dive school**]() **during training pipeline** - **Army chief warrant officer 5 receives Soldier’s Medal for** [**saving people from house fire**]() - **4** [**US Navy destroyers**]() **respond to Russian and Chinese ships near Alaska** - **Chinese troops** [**vow they are willing to die**]() **in fight for Taiwan** - **‘He was willing to sacrifice himself:’ Army veteran** [**killed in Ukraine**]() ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()