The community at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam is mourning after a missing airman was found dead near a local beach Sunday morning.
The remains of Senior Airman Roque Santos, a fuels service center controller with the 36th Logistics Readiness Squadron, were discovered near Family Beach after the base launched search-and-rescue operations to find him. Stars and Stripes reported Monday that Santos had been fishing Saturday and did not return when expected.
“The entire 36th LRS team is in mourning over the loss of one of our own,” his squadron commander, Maj. Stephen Moulton, said. “Roque was our brother, a beloved member of the team and always committed to serving with honor and integrity as a controller.”
Santos began serving at Andersen in March 2022. Base officials said he quickly established himself as a “standout performer.”
In his first role there as a fuels facility technician, Santos was in charge of inspecting, maintaining and operating the service’s largest fuels facility infrastructure, and kept fuel flowing during four major multinational exercises.
His strong performance prompted his superiors to give him more responsibility as a fuels service center controller, managing 42 refueling assets and 27 technicians across 2,000 operations.
Andersen said Santos’ hard work led his flight to be named the top fuels management flight for Pacific Air Forces in 2022, as well as being named the 2022 Wing Large Team of the Year Award.
Moulton and Brig. Gen. Thomas Palenske, commander of the 36th Wing at Andersen, said the base is working to support Santos’ family and members of the base’s community who are grieving.
“Roque was an integral part of the Team Andersen family,” Palenske said. “I want to extend my deepest condolences to Roque’s family during this difficult time. Our priority is ensuring that everyone affected by this tragedy gets the support they need. We will use this time to come together and honor Roque and ensure he is remembered.”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
