Military officials are investigating the non-combat-related death of a soldier that occurred on February 11 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Camp Arifjan, located
By CAITLIN M. KENNEY | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 13, 2021 WASHINGTON Speed and lack of protective gear during a “joyride” of a vehicle led to the rollover death in September of an Air Force reservist in Kuwait, according to an investigation released Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Ronald J. Ouellette, 23, of Merrimack, N.H., died Sept. 14 when the single all-terrain vehicle in which he was a passenger rolled and pinned him to the ground in a cargo yard near the flight line at Ali Al Salem Air Base. His home unit was the 42nd Aerial Port Squadron out of Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts. During his deployment to Kuwait, he was assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron at the base.
Airman killed in ATV rollover was ‘just out joyriding’ 7 hours ago
Staff Sgt. Ronald J. Ouelette, 42nd Aerial Port Squadron member, of Merrimack, New Hampshire, died in a single all-terrain-vehicle non-combat related accident on the flightline at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, Sept. 14, 2020. (Courtesy Westover Air Reserve Base) A 23-year-old airman who died in an all-terrain utility vehicle accident in Kuwait last fall was the passenger on an unauthorized joyride gone wrong, the Air Force said in a new investigation report published Tuesday. The Air Force found that the driver of the Army-owned Polaris Ranger failed to follow its owner’s manual, and violated multiple Air Force and Defense Department safety regulations by taking the vehicle out for a reason unrelated to work and attempting to pull a fast U-turn on the sand.
High-Speed Joy Ride Caused ATV Rollover That Killed Airman
Staff Sergeant Ronald J. Ouellette, 23, of Merrimack, New Hampshire. (U.S. Air Force/42nd Aerial Port Squadron/Facebook)
13 Apr 2021
A sharp turn at a high rate of speed caused an Army Polaris Ranger all-terrain utility vehicle to flip at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, last September, pinning down and killing the airman in the passenger seat.
That s according to a new Air Force ground investigation report into the fatal mishap.
Staff Sgt. Ronald Ouellette, 23, of Merrimack, New Hampshire, died in the non-combat related accident Sept. 14. Ouellette and the driver, only identified as an active-duty staff sergeant, were not wearing seatbelts, helmets, eye protection or long-sleeved shirts as required by regulations, the mishap report released Tuesday states.