Second Airman from Kunsan Airbase Security Force Unit Found Dead in Last Two Weeks
This is horrible for the airmen in this security force at Kunsan AB:
Members of the 8th Security Forces Squadron salute at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, in May 2022. (Jesenia Landaverde/U.S. Air Force)
An airman was discovered dead at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea on Monday, less than two weeks after the death of a fellow service member assigned to the same unit. Senior Airman Saniyya Smalls, 25, of the 8th Security Forces Squadron, was found at an unspecified location on Kunsan, roughly 115 miles south of Seoul, the 8th Fighter Wing said in a news release Tuesday. Smalls’ death is a “tragic loss” and “has deeply impacted our community,” wing commander Col. Peter Kasarskis said in the release.
You can read more at the link, but condolences to the friends and family of both airmen.
Yes. Technically, all members of the military are adults; but there ought to be better supervision.
Legit question here, as I believe some of you know the answer well.
When a young servicemember is “found dead”, what is the usual cause of death?
I am going to guess it is suicide.
And, as a side note, instead of sneaking around and saying all the glowing nonsense about those who commit suicide, they should make fun of them and say all sorts of horrible stuff like what weak losers they are.
When people realize a cry for help is actually an invitation for ridicule, some of them will have second thoughts.
This policy is an easy win for suicide reduction.
As a bonus, you get to bully people who can’t defend themselves.
CH, your method sounds appealing; but I still blame the senior NCOs for slovenly supervision. One expects better of people who allegedly earned those zebra stripes.
CH – you are correct, saw a lot of attempts in my day, usually by jr enlisted on a 3 year overseas tour but had an older NCO nam vet get saved by the politzei in my unit too. My late father had to do family notification at a bad neighborhood in Camden NJ in the 70’s, young USAF SP did himself in on guard duty in Germany.
Two suicides in two weeks is pretty bad. I do think a lot of the problem falls on leadership. I remember when general Edmondson took over as the commandante of the Airfare academy and two cadets committed suicide in two days. She was promoted of course.
Maybe setnaffa’s experience was different, but when I was in the Army, outside of my official duties I just wanted to be left alone. Having NCOs up in my personal business made things worse, not better.
But I was probably atypical.
“Legit question here, as I believe some of you know the answer well.”
Yep, here goes:
Okay, this information is a little dated (’88 & ’89), but during that period the leading cause of death in the AF was … wait for it
autoerotic asphyxiation
You read that right: The leading cause of death.
These casualties were officially listed simply as “suicides” at the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC), Randolph AFB TX, and remain so to this day.
The only way to know the truth (and the coverup) was to know the NCOIC of Casualty Affairs at AFPC during that period. As it turns out, he PCS’d to Osan in 1989 where he & I worked (and drank) together for the next two years.
During casualty notifications (casualty notification teams were made up of a colonel, a finance officer, and a chaplain), the family was always told the dearly departed was a decorated veteran who worked hard, fought bravely for his country, and is sorely missed by his unit.
Personal effects in the dorm room were carefully boxed up by the unit and sent to the family. Any porn, lewd & decadent material, or anything that could be embarrassing was removed just out of respect for the grieving family.
Side Note: The Air Force Training Ribbon is “awarded” to all airmen who complete basic training. So, any airman who dies after basic training is, by definition, a “decorated veteran”. Many in AFPC believe the AF Training Ribbon was made for that very purpose.
BL: Our airman at Kunsan was a decorated veteran.
@Chickenhead, yes normally if the authorities say there was no foul play but do not give a cause a death it is probably suicide. However, sometimes people have medical emergencies and die of natural causes which is why they wait for the medical examiner results from the autopsy. This can actually take a quite a while to get done.
I apologize for the length of this one.
@Hot Stuff,
In 1978-1980, airmen normally had 1-2 people per room. After Basic Training at Lackland AFB and waiting for Tech School, some of my roommates had hard drugs and brought their girfriends to the dorm. I experienced a roommate at Castle AFB who had large quantities (over 10 pounds) of marijuana in the room and left seeds on my bunk until I offered to call the 1SGT and LEs. My first roommate at Griffiss AFB sold illegal steroids out of his locker and our refrigerator.
I would have welcomed a little micromanagement. I was too immature to handle all this and spent part of the time living in my car and part of the time living off base without permission. As I have been successful in more difficult civilian roles, I do blame the senior NCOs at all three bases. No incentive to excel.
@McGeehee,
Under Jimmy Carter, we did not receive an Air Force Training Ribbon nor the nearly ever-present National Defense Service Medal. Heck, I qualified for the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon but my leadership didn’t process the paperwork because not everyone in the squadron qualified.
Poor quality NCOs in leadership roles. No incentive to excel.
I knew two programmers who passed from autoerotic asphyxiation in Northern California in the early 1980s (1982/83). One was also abusing nitrous oxide, so that might have contributed. Both were intelligent but had few social skills.
Of course, neither were former military, so I don’t blame their deaths on NCOs; but the AF deaths yes. Those people gave off signals.