Eleven soldiers hospitalized at Texas base after ingesting substance

Eleven soldiers at a military base in Texas were hospitalized, with two in critical condition, after ingesting an unidentified substance during a training exercise on Thursday, the U.S. Army said on Friday. The soldiers from Fort Bliss in El Paso were completing a field training exercise when the incident occurred, the Army's public affairs office said in a statement.

Eleven soldiers at a military base in Texas were hospitalized, with two in critical condition, after ingesting an unidentified substance during a training exercise on Thursday, the U.S. Army said on Friday.

The soldiers from Fort Bliss in El Paso were completing a field training exercise when the incident occurred, the Army's public affairs office said in a statement. "The soldiers fell ill after consuming a substance acquired outside of authorized food supply distribution channels," the statement said, but it didn't identify what was eaten. It said the incident was under investigation. The hospitalized soldiers include one warrant officer, two non-commissioned officers and eight enlisted members. None were identified to the media.

"We took immediate action to treat everyone involved with the best medical care available," Major General Sean Bernabe, senior mission commander of the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss, said in the statement. The U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, with about 17,000 soldiers, is nicknamed "Old Ironsides."