Two airmen in separate training programs in Texas died earlier this month. Officials still are investigating the causes of the deaths. According to the San Antonio Express-News, Maj. Bryan Adrian, 41, an Air National Guardsman from Anchorage, on Feb. 15 was pulled from a swimming pool at Lackland AFB, Tex., where he was undergoing water confidence training, and was pronounced dead at the base hospital. Adrian was a member of the ANG’s 212th Rescue Squadron, Kulis ANGB, Alaska. The Associated Press news service reported that SrA. Leonard Hankerson Jr., 24, assigned to the 56th Security Forces Squadron at Luke AFB, Ariz., on Feb. 11 became ill during training at Ft. Bliss, Tex., and later died at a military hospital.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
