A1C Joshua Grier, 20, an airman deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, from Minot AFB, N.D., died on April 27, announced Minot officials on Tuesday. The cause of Grier’s death remains under investigation, states the base’s April 30 release. Grier was found unresponsive and then transferred to Guam Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the release. Grier was assigned to Minot’s 5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron as a B-52 assistant dedicated crew chief since September 2012. He deployed to Guam in March as part of the newest rotation of bombers to Andersen where the United States maintains a continuous bomber presence to promote stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Space Development Agency is on track to resume its Tranche 1 launch campaign this week after a nine-month pause to fix hardware and software issues that arose on orbit following the launch of its first operational satellites last fall.