2 dead in Lackland Air Force Base shooting, authorities say

[austinN4]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/08/us/texas-lackland-shooting/index.html

"A Pentagon official told CNN on condition of anonymity that an airman shot his squadron commander."


Two people are dead after a shooting Friday morning at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland -- an incident that involved an airman shooting his squadron commander, a Pentagon official told CNN on condition of anonymity.

James Keith, spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, said it was a murder-suicide.
No arrests have been reported, but the situation is over and a lockdown at the Texas facility -- also known as Lackland Air Force Base -- has been lifted, Brig. Gen. Robert LaBrutta told reporters.

[rocsteady]

I have some firsthand info on this but have to wait on auth to release it. If our info is correct, def not a terrorist action.

[SOWT]

100% not terrorism.
The LtCol was a good guy.
:sad:

[BuzzinSATX]

Definitely a sad deal, and prayers for the commander (victim) and his family and family of the shooter as well. TSgt (E6) shoots his CC for receiving an Article 15. I don't know the background but this is a ugly deal. He was being escorted by a SNCO, who I assume was his 1st Sgt.

And it could NOT have happened at a worse day/time. Not that there is ever a good time for something like this to happen, but Friday is Basic Training graduation day, where hundreds of trainees are graduating and thousands of family and friends are on base. Ceremony begins at 0900, and as shooting happened at 0840, this was clearly a serious clusterfvck.

[rocsteady]

Now that info is out http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/shooting-reported-lackland-air-force-base-texas-n552981

I actually sat with Bellino as he was processing out of the Bureau.

Kinda' sobering to think he could have been an active shooter in our office...

[JoshNC]

Definitely a sad deal, and prayers for the commander (victim) and his family and family of the shooter as well. TSgt (E6) shoots his CC for receiving an Article 15. I don't know the background but this is a ugly deal. He was being escorted by a SNCO, who I assume was his 1st Sgt.

Can you please translate this for the non-mil members.

[SIGguy229]

Can you please translate this for the non-mil members.

A mid-grade non-commissioned officer (NCO) shot his commander while in the middle of a meeting where the NCO was going to be punished under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. His punishment stemmed from (according to press reports) being absent without leave during training. I've read accounts where he failed a cycle of training and left the training area for a period of time (days? weeks?), missing training that was his place of duty, without authorization.

Other accounts include the commander notifying the NCO he was going to be court-martialed (go to trial with a military judge or jury) to have him confined and dismissed from the service.

An Article 15 generally involves punishment up to and including: loss of rank, loss of money, restriction, and additional duty, along with other administrative impacts that will affect future promotions and re-enlistments. Also can include recommendation for discharge under "other than honorable" conditions.

A court-martial will involve most/all of the above, plus incarceration, and a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge (i.e. felony conviction).

[El Pistolero]

A mid-grade non-commissioned officer (NCO) shot his commander while in the middle of a meeting where the NCO was going to be punished under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. His punishment stemmed from (according to press reports) being absent without leave during training. I've read accounts where he failed a cycle of training and left the training area for a period of time (days? weeks?), missing training that was his place of duty, without authorization.

Other accounts include the commander notifying the NCO he was going to be court-martialed (go to trial with a military judge or jury) to have him confined and dismissed from the service.

An Article 15 generally involves punishment up to and including: loss of rank, loss of money, restriction, and additional duty, along with other administrative impacts that will affect future promotions and re-enlistments. Also can include recommendation for discharge under "other than honorable" conditions.

A court-martial will involve most/all of the above, plus incarceration, and a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge (i.e. felony conviction).


Here's a different angle to the story, which states that the Article 15 was for refusing to train, and the shooter didn't go AWOL until after being offered the Art 15. But I don't buy it, there has to be more to the story than what is being told:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3lLfTf4kYcMJ:www.saveourheroesproject.com/toxic-leadership-can-cost-lives.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us


Yesterday, Lackland AFB was rocked by a shocking tragedy; an active shooter shot and killed his Commander before taking his own life. This horrific murder-suicide both stunned and terrified the entire Air Force community. Of course, the Lackland leadership was quick to reassure the public—and congratulate themselves—that the situation had been handled swiftly and effectively. Yet their minute-by-minute analysis of the response team doesn’t answer the big question on everyone’s mind. Why did this happen? Thanks to a confidential informant, we have a considerably clearer picture of what exactly lead up to yesterday’s disastrous event. Sadly, this picture shows a toxic environment that failed both the shooter and victim at multiple levels.

Our confidential informant reports that the shooter was an Air Force Technical Sergeant who was going through Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) specialist training. TACP trainees go through intense physical, mental and technical training in order to withstand the demanding conditions of battle. Notably, this Technical Sergeant was a former FBI Agent. However, something went wrong during the water egress training section that caused the Technical Sergeant to refuse to continue his TACP training. Water egress training is considered one of the more demanding portions of the already challenging training. The Technical Sergeant’s refusal to continue his training led his Squadron Commander to take adverse actions against him.

Initially, his Commander offered non-judicial punishment in the form of an Article 15 for refusing to train. An Article 15 is used by Commanders to curb behaviors and punish service members for crimes. By accepting the Article 15, a service member can avoid a military court martial. However, accepting such a punishment will likely have the service member removed from military service, and potentially even fined or imprisoned. The service member can refuse an Article 15 and demand trial by military court martial.

This Technical Sergeant refused to accept the Article 15 from his Commander, and demanded trial by court martial. Strangely, it appears the Commander did not then send the Technical Sergeant to court martial, but instead offered the Article 15 to him again. As before, the Technical Sergeant refused the Article 15 and, once more, demanded trial by court martial. It was also at this point that the Technical Sergeant fired his Area Defense Counsel, or military defense lawyer. Soon afterward, he went Absent Without Leave (AWOL) for nearly two weeks.

On 8 April, in the early morning, the Technical Sergeant returned—of his own accord—to Lackland Air Force Base–Medina Annex at Forbes Hall with deadly intent. He was searching for his Commander when his First Sergeant saw him walking down a hallway of the building. He informed his First Sergeant that he wanted to speak with the Commander. Once the First Sergeant brought the Commander into the hallway, the Technical Sergeant pulled out a gun. The Commander yelled for the First Sergeant to run. As she ran down the hallway, the Technical Sergeant fired a shot after her and, fortunately, missed. The Commander was shot as he and the shooter wrestled for the gun. The shooter then turned his gun on himself.

Realizing that such a tragic outcome was avoidable makes it even more heartbreaking. First, there was the shooter himself. We don’t know what specifically happened during the TACP training that caused him to abruptly quit. Combining that he attempted to quit with the knowledge that he went on to commit a murder-suicide leads us to speculate that this man was clearly suffering from some serious mental issues. Had someone simply reached out and talked with him…had someone taken the time to ensure he received the help he obviously needed, these two deaths could’ve been avoided. Instead, it appears he merely became another target in a toxic environment.

Next, there is the punishment itself. As previously stated, the Commander attempted to give the Technical Sergeant an Article 15. While the consequences of an Article 15 can vary, it’s essentially a guaranteed career-ender. Despite that, many would agree that it’s safer to accept an Article 15 than roll the dice at a court martial, where the stakes are significantly higher. As such, it speaks volumes that this Technical Sergeant was confident enough to refuse the Article 15 and demand a court-martial. His actions could merely be a symptom of the obvious mental issues he was suffering from. Or they could indicate a wrongful punishment.

It’s highly unusual for a Commander to reissue an Article 15 and deny a request for a court-martial. We suspect the Commander was acting on bad advice from the Lackland legal office. The Lackland legal office has a reputation for blindly pursuing and punishing any service member who winds up in its cross-hairs by any means possible. Adding to an already convoluted situation, the Technical Sergeant then fired his military defense lawyer; this is also uncommon and fairly extreme. Again, this could simply be the actions of a mentally disturbed individual. But it could also be another sign of a corrupt legal office and an inept defense council. But even if our worst assumptions are true, this tragedy could still have been prevented.

The Technical Sergeant then went AWOL for two weeks before returning to Lackland AFB, where he easily gained access to the Medina Annex. As soon as the AWOL Technical Sergeant took off, he should have been flagged in the Department of Defense Identity System (DBIDS) for easy recognition if he returned to a military installation. DBIDS is a networked database system designed to easily verify access authorization of personnel entering military installations by using barcode and fingerprint biometric identification. Either he was never flagged in DBIDS or the Security Forces gate guards didn’t properly scan his identification. Both situations present a serious security concern. If security procedures had been properly followed, this could have avoided the entire incident.

Another security measure that appears to have failed was the change in Security Forces arming procedures. Lackland AFB leadership used to enforce a very effective deterrent measure of dual arming security personnel at the gates and in patrol cars. Dual arming is effectively giving every Security Force personnel a handgun (M-9) and a rifle (M-4). These procedures went into place after the last active shooter incident at Fort Sam, and appear to have been successful. The reason for lifting such procedures is currently unknown. Such a deterrent may also have prevented yesterday’s gruesome events.

Needless to say, yesterday has left the Air Force community with many questions. Would fostering an environment of trust and respect prevented this? Why did the Technical Sergeant refuse to continue training? Why did his Commander seek to punish him instead of helping him? In fact, why does it appear that no one attempted to help him? Why was the refused Article 15 reissued instead of proceeding to court martial? Why did the Technical Sergeant fire his military defense counsel? Why didn’t Lackland’s security procedures prevent the shooting?

While it’s unlikely that we’ll ever know the answers to such questions, it’s apparent where the core of the problem lies. Brigadier General Robert LaBrutta, commanding officer of Joint Base-San Antonio has been fostering an environment rich with abuse towards Airmen and toxic leadership. Yesterday’s shooting at Lackland AFB is truly tragic, it is also, sadly, unsurprising. It's well known that Lackland is a hot bed of toxic leadership and corruption. Look no further than the recently published book by Lt Col Craig Perry (Ret) “Never Leave an Airman Behind: How the Air Force Faltered and Failed in the Wake of the Lackland Sex Scandal”. This book sheds a bright light on the troubling Air Force toxic leadership that perpetuates across all levels of command. Few Commanders can compare to the level of corruption, abuses and civil rights violations inflicted by Brigadier General Robert LaBrutta. LaBrutta is now recognized for not one, but two active shooter incidents under his command. At a press conference, Labrutta stated, “We have some one-offs, and that’s what I would consider this, a one-off.” Quite the understatement. General, this would be “two-offs” for you. These incidents are not just an unfortunate coincidence. Such a fatal and heart-breaking consequence was likely inevitable with such a heartless Commander running the show.

In writing this, we neither condone nor excuse the actions of the shooter. Regardless of the situation and his possible mental instability, taking a life is not justified. Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims as they mourn the loss of their loved one. But while they grieve, let us look towards ensuring that this tragedy doesn’t happen again

[Averageman]

Next, there is the punishment itself. As previously stated, the Commander attempted to give the Technical Sergeant an Article 15. While the consequences of an Article 15 can vary, it’s essentially a guaranteed career-ender. Despite that, many would agree that it’s safer to accept an Article 15 than roll the dice at a court martial, where the stakes are significantly higher. As such, it speaks volumes that this Technical Sergeant was confident enough to refuse the Article 15 and demand a court-martial. His actions could merely be a symptom of the obvious mental issues he was suffering from. Or they could indicate a wrongful punishment.

It’s highly unusual for a Commander to reissue an Article 15 and deny a request for a court-martial. We suspect the Commander was acting on bad advice from the Lackland legal office. The Lackland legal office has a reputation for blindly pursuing and punishing any service member who winds up in its cross-hairs by any means possible. Adding to an already convoluted situation, the Technical Sergeant then fired his military defense lawyer; this is also uncommon and fairly extreme. Again, this could simply be the actions of a mentally disturbed individual. But it could also be another sign of a corrupt legal office and an inept defense council. But even if our worst assumptions are true, this tragedy could still have been prevented.


I'm not sure how you verify the above, but it sounds like a toxic place to serve if true.