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Boot camp flu blamed in Lackland death

A rare viral strain known as “boot camp flu” is to blame for a 19-year-old recruit’s death at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Airman Paige Villers was among the 100 or so who contracted the illness between March and June. Despite a brief recovery, she relapsed into sickness and eventually died from pneumonia Aug. 7 in Wilford Hall Medical Center. Villers was buried Tuesday in her native Ohio.

The respiratory adenovirus thrives in boot camp-style conditions, where exhausted and stressed recruits bunk in close quarters. A particularly unusual strain of what’s commonly called “boot camp flu” swept through recruits’ barracks several months ago, though most who fell ill recovered quickly.

Lackland officials have acknowledged Villers’ death but have not made any announcements, citing concerns for the family’s privacy. According to an obituary published in Ohio’s Akron Beacon Journal, an Aug. 9 memorial service at Lackland was attended by Air Force leaders, including Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney McKinley.

Although Villers was on a ventilator and confined to a wheelchair, she graduated from basic training July 20. The Norton, Ohio, native leaves behind her parents, Michelle and Donald Villers; a younger brother, Corey; and a son, Landen Villers.