Update: 4 CT National Guard Soldiers Remain Hospitalized

EAST LYME, CT — Six soldiers were hospitalized after a training exercise at Connecticut National Guard's Stones Ranch Military Reservation in East Lyme early Monday morning. By early afternoon, one soldier had been discharged from the hospital and five others remained hospitalized, officials said.

By evening, another soldier was discharged from the hospital but four are still hospitalized and are being "monitored," officials said Monday night.

East Lyme Police Chief Michael Finkelstein said the soldiers were taken to the hospital for "dehydration type symptoms related to a training exercise."

Connecticut National Guard Major Dave Pytlik told Patch in an email that "several civilian ambulances were called" to the military reservation for "potential heat injuries during the Officer Candidate School Phase 1 course." Pytlik said that the "course was conducting a ruck march."

It was in the mid-70s Monday morning in East Lyme when the incident was first reported. Pytlik said that despite the temperature, as soldiers were "conducting a strenuous march with heavy packs ...someone can feel quite warm even in cool temps while marching with weight."

"Details are still being gathered," Pytlik said. "Course managers coordinated with local EMS this year, as they do each year, for additional EMS crews to be on staff for this training event."

He said the incident will continue to be monitored.

Referred to as a "mass casualty" incident on emergency dispatch, Finkelstein said that reference is used "for ambulance purposes to get the right resources there to help manage the situation."

Pytlik also noted that while the term "mass casualty" was used, "there is no indication anyone is in critical condition or that any medical systems are overwhelmed."

Myriad reports early Monday indicated that there was an "unresponsive" soldier; Pytlik said that was "inaccurate."

Stones Ranch, located in Niantic, is the 2,000-acre multi-use tactical training site for the CT National Guard 's 246th Engineer Detachment.

Here's a Facebook post from the military training site from last year.

Check back for updates.