Commander addresses Lakenheath Airmen about Frankfurt shooting

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stephen Linch
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England (AFNS) --  The commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe spoke to more than 200 Airmen from the 48th Security Forces Squadron here March 3.

Gen. Mark A. Welsh III urged the Airmen to take care of each other in the wake of a shooting that claimed the lives of two Airmen and wounded two more.

The shooting incident occurred March 2 at Frankfurt International Airport, Germany, as a 15-member security forces team was being transported from the airport to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The members were on their way to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom when the alleged shooter, now in German authorities' custody, attacked the team.

Senior Airman Nicholas J. Alden, 25, of Williamston, S.C., assigned to the 48th SFS at Royal Air Force Lakenheath; and Airman 1st Class Zachary R. Cuddeback, 21, of Stanardsville, Va., assigned to the 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron at Ramstein AB, lost their lives in the shooting.

The two wounded 48th SFS Airmen are being treated at a hospital in Frankfurt.

"I'm sorry all of this happened to your brothers," General Welsh said, noting everything that could be done for the victims and their families was being done.

The general continued addressing the crowd, saying that the Airmen needed to first take care of the victims and their families, and then their own families, who were probably worried about them, followed by each other. Lastly, they needed to take care of themselves.

"You know how to take care of your own," he said. "They (your family) know what you do for a living, but sometimes when they hear the reality of something like this happening they really get concerned. Tell them you don't live in a dangerous place, but there are dangerous people, (and) that's why you wear the (security forces) badge."

The general went on to tell the story of a young man who served under him in the days leading up to Operation Desert Storm.

Capt. Michael L. Chinburg, 26, died when his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed during a night training mission Jan. 8, 1991, in Saudi Arabia.

"(Captain Chinburg) wasn't just some guy; he was my guy," the general said. "He was my brother."

"I grew up in a family with a father who was a fighter pilot," General Welsh said. "Death wasn't new to me, but my guy dying was new, and I had trouble dealing with it."

The general told the Airmen that if they had trouble dealing with their grief, they needed to look to each other, and if necessary, seek counselors or chaplains.

"Everybody in this command feels the pain with you," General Welsh said. "We don't feel it as intensely, because we don't know the guys. But when I meet them tomorrow, I'll cry for you, right there beside them, and I will hug their relatives, and I'll tell them you love them and can't wait to get them home."