Story by Staff Sgt. Brittney Korte | 446th Airlift Wing (AFRC) | 08.11.2025
Looking out at the clouds from the side of the roaring prop plane, U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kate Parker battled a whirlwind of fear and exhilaration. Despite the deafening engine and shouted instructions, a surprising surge of calmness coursed through her, a stark contrast to her lifelong fear of heights. The military veteran skydiving instructors had framed the tandem jump as more than a......
Story by Staff Sgt. Andrew Alvarado | Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations | 04.15.2024
Those who experience the unexpected loss of a friend or loved one can find themselves catapulted into a process of grief and mourning. According to renowned death educator and grief counselor Dr. Alan Wolfelt, grief is the inner response, while mourning is the external expression of our thoughts and emotions as we navigate that loss....
Story by Airman 1st Class Sterling Sutton | 6th Air Refueling Wing | 07.13.2023
In our dining room, the decorations are still on display. The motivation to remove them had not yet arisen. The candles were lit on a cake, and all of his siblings blew them out while we sang to him in heaven. In my experience as a mother who has lost a child, two days are the most difficult. Birthdays and, as my children refer to them, "death days.”...
Story by Janet A. Aker | Defense Health Agency | 04.28.2022
More than 140,000 American children have suffered the loss of a parent or caregiver due to COVID-19, according to a recent study. COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death among Americans last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so many children have also lost extended family members or close family friends. And death is not the only form of loss that......
Story by Lori Bultman | 502nd Air Base Wing | 12.09.2020
The holiday season can be an exciting time, full of gift giving, visits with friends and relatives, delicious meals, or spending quiet time at home with loved ones. For some, the season may not be as joyful – a lonely time full of negative thoughts and difficult circumstances, such as the ongoing pandemic. Joint Base San Antonio offers many programs and services which can help lift spirits......
Story by Airman 1st Class Nilsa Garcia | 22nd Air Refueling Wing | 12.07.2020
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan.—The unexpected loss of an Airman to suicide creates a void that echos far beyond the empty chair at their workstation. The unit’s focus must now shift from preventative efforts to fostering recovery for the ones left behind....
Courtesy Story | Commander, Navy Recruiting Command | 11.21.2020
Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Albert Hero of Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Carolina opens up about the loss of his good friend to suicide....
Story by Spc. Adeline Witherspoon | 20th Public Affairs Detachment | 05.30.2018
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea— Illness is the most insidious form of domestic terrorism. It uses our own resources against us to break the body down into bits and pieces—a lump, a headache, a doctor’s visit—and after the trickle comes the flood. A stranger, a literal sleeper cell, who’s been living undercover, turns our body into hostile foreign territory. E causa ignota—cause unknown....
