An air commando died from injuries suffered in a ground vehicle accident during training on the Melrose Air Force Range in New Mexico, west of Cannon Air Force Base. The airman succumbed to the effects of head trauma while in a local hospital on May 12, one day after the mishap involving the utility task vehicle, according to officials with Cannon’s 27th Special Operations Wing. A second air commando was injured in the accident, but released from the hospital the same day as the mishap, Maj. Mindy Yu, 27th SOW spokeswoman told Air Force Magazine on May 13. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Air Force had not released the deceased airman’s name, pending notification of kin. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Yu confirmed that preliminary information indicates the vehicle rolled over.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.