Air Force Special Operations Command on Tuesday released the results into the death of an airman during a ground accident, finding the airman was killed when his off-road utility vehicle rolled over during training. SSgt. Jordan Lewis, a CV-22 flight engineer with the 27th Special Operations Support Squadron at Cannon AFB, N.M., was killed after being thrown from his 2011 Polaris RZR off-road utility vehicle when it rolled over, according to an AFSOC release. “The loss of Sergeant Lewis is tragic,” said Col. Jacqueline Powell, president of the Ground Accident Investigation Board and deputy director of operations at AFSOC headquarters. “He was a dedicated warrior and a valued member of the AFSOC community.” Lewis was a combat veteran who had deployed to Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.