OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA: A cloak of secrecy hangs over an Air Force base located in Oklahoma, where 17 individuals have died since the beginning of 2023. An advocate for military families is now raising questions about a potential surge in suicides.
Despite mounting concerns, officials from both the Air Force and the base remain tight-lipped about the circumstances surrounding the deaths, offering only vague references to "various causes."
"We are deeply saddened by the losses we have experienced at Tinker Air Force Base," said Col Abby Ruscetta, the Tinker installation commander.
Series of unexplained deaths at Tinker
Situated in Oklahoma City, Tinker also hosts naval facilities and the Defense Logistics Agency. In the larger Air Force, 17 suicides were reported between January 1 and March 31, 2023, as per the Department of Defense.
"Our focus moving forward is to let everyone know we value them, and we stand together as a team," added Col Ruscetta.
Several of the fatalities are currently "under investigation," as revealed by a base spokesperson. A Military.com investigation hints at "deaths linked to the base this year, potentially including suicides."
The nature of the decedents' roles at the base, which boasts a personnel strength exceeding 30,000, remains uncertain.
That said, scant information or media coverage exists regarding those who have died on the base. The obituary for Senior Airperson Tyler Jo Law, who died on May 28, merely mentions her affiliation with the base, omitting any cause of death.
The base's workforce encompasses government employees, contractors, and civilians, contributing to the complexity of the situation. A source associated indicated that aside from suicides, there could also be COVID-19-related deaths within this grim toll.
Moreover, though the Department of Defense is responsible for suicide statistics across bases, these numbers are not divulged by the military branch. There is no legal constraint preventing individual bases from releasing their death counts.
Kimberly Woodruff, the base's spokesperson, said it is "committed to fostering a culture that values and encourages help-seeking behavior and enhances individual confidence."
"Tinker Air Force Base officials have engaged with our people following the recent losses of life and has a network of helping agencies to include mental health counselors, chaplains, and Military Family Readiness professionals," she added.
Calls for transparency
Teri Caserta, a prominent advocate for military families following her son's suicide in 2018, underscored the urgency of disclosure, especially after social media posts alluding to a potential series of suicides at Tinker have stirred concern.
Caserta emphasized, "Tinker does not have to disclose the names of the airmen/women who have died, but I believe we as citizens who have service members and who have children looking into serving our country deserve to know why and how airmen/women are dying."
"We need to know that the Air Force takes all deaths as seriously as they claim and, if there is toxicity within the ranks at Tinker, they all should be held accountable for these deaths whether they are suicides or not," she added.
Change in mental health policies
Furthermore, the Air Force recently announced the revision of its mental health policies related to the law named after Caserta's son Brandon, enacted in 2022.
In contrast to the Air Force's guarded approach, both the Army and Navy have been forthcoming about what they describe as "suicide clusters" in recent years.
Notably, the Navy relocated 260 sailors off the USS George Washington after recording multiple deaths and suicides aboard. The Navy's transparency in naming the deceased crew members contrasts with the information released by the Air Force.
