A tight-knit defence community is in mourning after a fatal truck rollover during an army training course near a key garrison city.

One soldier died and two others were taken to hospital after the single-vehicle crash on Hervey Range Road west of Townsville, in north Queensland, just after 6.30pm on Wednesday.

The soldiers formed part of Townsville's 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, an armoured infantry battalion with a lineage that can be traced back to 1945.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the dead soldier's family, friends, loved ones and colleagues were in his thoughts.

"As a small, tight-knit community I know this will be felt right across Townsville and the entire Australian Defence Force," he posted on Twitter on Thursday.

"This is a tragic loss and the sacrifice

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