The Pentagon has identified the service member killed in Kuwait Aug. 2 as an Air Force technical sergeant from West Virginia.
An Air National Guardsman from West Virginia was killed in a non-combat-related incident in Kuwait Aug. 2.
The Pentagon on Thursday identified Tech. Sgt. David Board, 49, of Barboursville, West Virginia, as the service member who died. The release did not say what caused his death. Board was serving as an aircraft fuels systems craftsman.
Board was assigned to the 130th Airlift Wing at McLaughlin Air National Guard Base in West Virginia, and was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve at the time of his death.
Board enlisted in the Air Force in 1986 and was a veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety said in an email Thursday.
He served 14 years in all — six years on active duty as a missile maintenance specialist, and eight years with the 130th’s maintenance squadron.
He received the Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Antarctica Service Medal, and the Air Force Good Conduct Medal.
Technical Sgt. David Board of the West Virginia Air National Guard died in a non-combat related incident in Kuwait Aug. 2. (Courtesy of the Board family)
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter at Defense News. He previously reported for Military.com, covering the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare. Before that, he covered U.S. Air Force leadership, personnel and operations for Air Force Times.
“The prohibition of consideration of the members’ good military character or service record moves the ‘zero-tolerance’ culture forward, omitting opportunities for the ‘good dude’ defense,” said military personnel expert Kate Kuzminski.