SSgt. Kenneth J. Wilburn, a 30-year-old combat controller apprentice, died Jan. 12, three days after he lost consciousness during a water treading exercise Jan. 9 at a training pool at Lackland AFB, Tex. According to a Jan. 13 statement, Wilburn did not respond to emergency life-saving efforts on the scene and never regained consciousness at Wilford Hall Medical Center. He was assigned to the 342nd Training Squadron at Lackland. According to an Associated Press report (via the Houston Chronicle), base spokesman Oscar Balladares said officials did not know whether Wilburn drowned or some other factor caused him to lose consciousness. According to AP, Wilburn, from Union, S.C., was cross-training into the combat controller career field and previously had been assigned to the 820th Security Forces Group at Moody AFB, Ga. Air Force officials will investigate his death.
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…