Naval officer dies during training

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A naval officer died during a physical training exercise at Joint Amphibious Base Little Creek-Fort Story on Jan. 17, the Navy confirmed Thursday.

Navy Lt. Thomas C. Fouke, 28, collapsed while participating in a supervised physical training course. He was treated on scene then rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden loss of a great teammate like Thomas,” said Capt. Brad Treadway, commander of Naval Special Warfare Group TEN.

Fouke, a native of St Louis, Mo., was a Navy Information Warfare officer.

After his initial training in the Reserve Officer Training Corps program, Fouke served at the Navy Information Operations Command, Misawa, Japan from July 2006 until October 2009. He then transferred to the Navy Information Operations Command, Bahrain, where he served from November 2009 until May 2011. In June 2011, Fouke reported to his East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.

Fouke was an accomplished naval officer with a promising career in the making. He was the recipient of the Navy’s Air Medal (2nd Strike/Flight Award), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and Navy Marksmanship Medals for both rifle and pistol.

Fouke is survived by his mother and father as well as a brother.

His death is under investigation.