The Air Force has attributed the Feb. 15 death of Maj. Bryan Adrian, who was engaged in training to become a combat rescue officer, to a pre-existing heart condition, called Long QT Syndrome. Adrian, an Air National Guardsman with the 212th Rescue Squadron in Alaska, lost consciousness while swimming underwater during the seventh week of an eight-week course conducted at Lackland AFB, Tex. Besides the heart condition, an investigation board found other contributing factors, including the strenuousness of the training, Adrian’s use of dietary supplements and over the counter medications, and delays by rescuers in securing an airway and attaching a defibrillator. The board also cited Adrian’s unyielding determination to complete the training as a factor that led to his death.
An F-16 pilot was awarded a Silver Star for a harrowing mission in which he dodged multiple surface-to-air missiles during the opening weeks of the operation against the Houthis in Yemen earlier this year.
