OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA: Tinker Air Force Base officials reportedly confirmed that there have been 17 deaths in the area since spring of 2023, with some of the causes of death potentially being suicide.
While the news was first broken by military.com, the commander of the base, Col Abigail Ruscetta, confirmed the deaths of 17 people.
Ruscetta reportedly said that 11 uniformed and civilian airmen had died due to natural causes and accidents. However, the remaining six died due to some other causes and remain under investigation.
Who is Col Abigail Ruscetta?
Colonel Abigail LW Ruscetta is the 72nd Air Base Wing Commander based in the Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where she is the leader of almost 3,000 airmen. She is also responsible for a budget of $5.4B in resources and $311M in operations.
Ruscetta is also tasked with providing installation support for over 27,000 personnel assigned to the Headquarters Air Force Sustainment Center, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex, 552nd Air Control Wing, Navy Strategic Communications Wing One, 507th Air Refueling Wing, 448th Supply Chain Management Wing and 45 other associate units including the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Finance and Accounting Service and 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group.
Ruscetta earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, and completed the Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course from Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas in 1997.
In 2003, she got her Master of Science in Logistics Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB. She also earned her Master of Science in National Security Strategy from Eisenhower School in Ft McNair, Washington DC in 2018.
She was made the Second Lieutenant on May 28, 1997. After consecutively being promoted to First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, she was made the Colonel on March 1, 2018.
According to the government website, “Ruscetta served on both the Special Operations Command Staff and the Air Staff and is a fully qualified joint officer.”
Since July 2018, she has been associated with the Tinker Air Force Base, and was made the commander in July. She is also a recipient of a NATO Medal.
What did Colonel Ruscetta say?
Ruscetta highlighted ‘suicide” as a potential cause for many of the deaths. She reportedly said, “Each and every death, either by suicide or some other means, is a tragedy.”
However, after each death, she said, the team leaders came forward, saying, “Following each loss of life, leaders from the affected unit engaged with their people to acknowledge the loss of a valued teammate.”
“We offered many avenues of support, including a network of helping agencies, mental health counselors, chaplains, and Military Family Readiness professionals,” concluded Ruscetta, per KFOR.
