I’m Kevin Laughrin. Navy. Logistics Specialist Seaman with the Jolly Rogers. My dad is Army Airborne. Together we started Veteran Valor Coffee because we know what the uniform costs—and we wanted a way to keep giving back after we hung ours up.
This weekend that cost showed up in front of a stadium full of people.
During UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game against Navy at the Alamodome in San Antonio, four Air Force service members were conducting a pregame rappelling demonstration from the rafters. One of them, an airman assigned to Detachment 2 of the 6th Combat Training Squadron, lost control during the descent. He fell roughly 170 feet and struck the field. Medical personnel treated him on the turf for about ten minutes before he was taken to a local hospital. He later died.
The Air Force has not released his name. The incident is under investigation. What we do know is that he was part of a unit that trains Tactical Air Control Party Airmen—the specialists who embed with Army and Marine units and call in air and artillery strikes from the ground. Detachment 2 operates out of Joint Base San Antonio–Camp Bullis and handles initial and advanced training for those operators, including the fast-rope and rappelling skills that keep them effective when they jump out of helicopters in combat.
Those skills are not for show. They are practiced because the job requires them. And even when the setting is a stadium instead of a drop zone, the risk is real.
What was meant to be a night of recognition turned quiet.
What was meant to be a night of recognition for the military and veterans turned into a moment of silence and then quiet, heavy air. The game was delayed roughly ten minutes. Fans, band members, players, and staff watched emergency responders work. Later, statements came from UTSA, the American Conference, and local leaders expressing sorrow for the airman, his family, and his teammates. That is the right response.
As a Navy veteran, I didn’t wear the same uniform he did. Different branch, different job, different ocean. None of that matters when one of us goes down doing the work. The ribbing we give each other between services only exists because we already know the standard. When one falls, that standard is what we honor.
The skills are practiced because the job requires them. The risk is real even when the setting is a stadium.
To his family, his unit at Detachment 2, the broader TACP community, and everyone who trained and served alongside him: we are sorry. There are no words that fix this. There is only the acknowledgment that he showed up, he trained for a demanding mission, and he was representing the Air Force and the military community on a night meant to salute all of us. That deserves respect.
At Veteran Valor Coffee, 10 percent of profits go to Mission 22 year-round (15 percent on major military holidays). Mission 22 focuses on mental wellness, suicide prevention, and reconnecting veterans with their families. We started the company because too many of us come home carrying weight that doesn’t show on a uniform. Honoring those who don’t make it home—or who are lost while still serving—means we also take care of the ones still here.
If you are a veteran or family member carrying something heavy, reach out. Mission 22 and other organizations exist for a reason. If you simply want a strong cup that sends a little support in the right direction, that works too.
We remember an airman who was doing his job. Fair winds, brother.
The investigation will continue. More details may come. For now, we remember an Air Force airman who was doing his job in front of a crowd, and we keep the standard he represented.
Fair winds, brother.
Kevin Laughrin
Medically retired LSSN, VFA-103 “The Jolly Rogers”
Marketing and Communications Director at Veteran Valor Coffee
www.veteranvalorcoffee.com
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