Anaheim Airman Jason Khai Phan Killed In Crash During Routine Patrol In Kuwait
ANAHEIM (CBSLA) — An airman from Anaheim was killed Saturday in a crash during a routine patrol in Kuwait.
Senior Airman Jason Khai Phan, 26, had served with the 66th Security Forces Squadron since October 2018. He was deployed to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing's 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron in Kuwait, where he has been since July, according to officials at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol in honor of Phan. Anaheim city officials also honored him for his service and expressed their condolences.
"His squadron was in Kuwait as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. mission to counter Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Our thoughts are with the Phan family and all he touched in his all-too-short life," Anaheim's Facebook post said.
Phan was killed in a single-vehicle, non-combat related accident while conducting a routine patrol outside the perimeter of Ali Al Salem Air Base, Hanscom AFB officials said in a statement. Two other Airmen were also injured in the crash, one of whom were taken to a hospital at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait for non-life-threatening injuries.
Phan conducted preliminary criminal investigations, according to 66th Security Forces Squadron Commander Maj. Shane Watts. He was recently accepted as a military working dog handler, and was about to attend the MWD Handler course at Joint Base Lackland in Texas after returning from deployment.
"Senior Airman Jason Phan was an exceptionally noble servant to the nation and his fellow Airmen," Watts said in a statement. "But it was his genuine enthusiasm and selfless devotion to others that defined the depth of his character and inspiration to his peers and leaders."
Military officials said Phan's remains will be flown back to the U.S. via Dover AFB in Delaware at a yet-to-be-determined date.