Army Col. James L. Merchant III, of Velrico, Fla., a paratrooper, was killed Thursday morning in a jump when he missed his landing zone and dropped into a retention pond adjacent to the base perimeter fence. It was not clear if he died from the impact or drowned, said Ken McGraw, base deputy public affairs officer. A Tampa Police Department rescue diver found him about 45 minutes after he landed. “The accident investigation and the autopsy will make that determination,” he said. The Tampa Tribune reported that Merchant was not part of the base’s parachute-demonstration team but had jumped to keep up his proficiency. The newspaper said the colonel landed in the water after lifting his legs to clear power lines. Merchant, 46, earned a bachelor of science degree and began his military career in 1984 when he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at The Citadel. He had served in Hawaii, Korea, Fort Hood, Texas, Fort McPherson, Ga., and in Germany, Italy and Croatia. He performed a variety of duties including serving as a signal battalion operations officer, joint staff officer and an executive officer. He served four years in the 3rd Army as Chief of Information Operations and rotated between Fort McPherson and Camp Doha, Qatar. From there he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. After graduating from the Air War College in 2005, Merchant was assigned to the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, serving as an Information Operations planner and chief of the Information Operations Division. He was honored with numerous awards and medals, including the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and Joint Meritorious Unit Award. “U.S. Special Operations Command extends our condolences to Merchant’s wife, Terri, and his family,” McGraw said. “His loss will be felt throughout the command.” Base officials said in addition to his wife, Merchant is survived by his parents, Susan Merchant and retired Army Col. James L. Merchant, of St. Augustine, Fla.; and a brother, Robert S. Merchant. Copyright (c) 1997 – 2008 the Evening Post Publishing Co. Tags: 1984
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