Two Service Members Were Found Dead Last Week at Joint Base San Antonio

(TNS) 

Dec. 1—AUSTIN, Texas — A soldier and an airman were found dead last week at Joint Base San Antonio, base officials announced Tuesday saying the deaths are unrelated. 

Army Spc. Brittany Harris, 35, was found dead at about 7 a.m. Wednesday at Fort Sam Houston, base officials said. Harris, who joined the Army three months ago, was training to become a combat medic and was assigned in early November to the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Peter Gonzalez, 21, was found dead at about 5 a.m. Thursday at Lackland Air Force Base. Gonzalez, who enlisted in the spring of 2019, was a biomedical equipment technician assigned to the 59th Medical Wing.

Foul play is not suspected in either death and both are under investigation, according to a news release from the base. The Army Criminal Investigation Command is investigating Harris's death, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations is investigating Gonzalez's death.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of both Brittany and Peter," said Brig. Gen. Caroline Miller, the commander of the 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio. "We extend our deepest sympathies to their families and friends during this holiday season."

No further information about the circumstances of either death was released.

Similar deaths occurred at both bases earlier this year.

In July, 22-year-old Louisiana National Guard member Sgt. Kelvonta K. Ellis of Westlake, La., was found dead in his room at Fort Sam Houston. He was attached to U.S. Army South at the time of his death.

Air Force reservist Tech. Sgt. Nicholas A. Vogler, 28, was found dead in March in his room at Lackland, where he was on a training assignment from New York.

Joint Base San Antonio consists of three large military bases, the Army's Fort Sam Houston and Lackland and Randolph Air Force bases, as well as a few smaller training facilities, which are spread throughout San Antonio. The Air Force's 502nd Air Base Wing manages the operations of the joint base, which supports about 47,000 service members. Missions in San Antonio include Air Force basic training and special warfare training, as well as a variety of Army medical training.

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