[Archives] A Tragedy in Florida

Mourning SrA Fortson

U.S. Army PFC Jordan Maclamore, 21st TSC transportation management specialist, sings “Lift Every Voice and Sing” during a memorial service honoring Senior Airman Roger Fortson at the Northside Chapel on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, June 6, 2024. SrA Roger Fortson was killed in an encounter with police May 3, 2024 at his home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. A special missions aviator assigned to the 73rd Special Operations Squadron and 4th SOS, Fortson’s decorations included an Air Force Achievement Medal and Air Medal with a ‘C’ device, which indicates service or achievement under combat conditions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Dylan Myers)

I need to write about this because it's essential. 

So, I don't know all the details. Frankly, at this point, it doesn't matter because a police officer killed an Airman. The fact that he was a Black man makes it even worse. 

SrA Roger Fortson was a battlefield Airman. Respect that, people. 

RESPECT IT.

This young man volunteered to serve this country during a recruiting crisis and became an AC-130J gunner. So, he volunteered twice. Because you have to WANT to do that type of work. 

Do they let anyone become an AC-130J gunner? NO. It's hard. It takes a strong young man to step up and do that. Seeing young people step up to the plate to take my place brings me hope. 

Just today, while I was at the gym, a 17-year-old girl was training for a slot in the Air Force Academy. It motivated me.

Because Airmen motivate me. They bring out the best in me. And I'm so sad that he's been taken from all of us—what a gift, a national treasure. He would've made all of us—every single one of us—better. 

SrA Fortson was an Air Commando. He was our nation's best. 

SrA Fortson should be alive right now. He should be having fun and enjoying life as a real warrior. I fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I was/am an intel weenie by heart. I was lucky enough for operators to let me play with them sometimes.

SrA Fortson was an operator—at the tip of the spear. 

We cannot expect our warriors—who we train to kill—not to answer doors with a gun. I'm sorry. I answer my door with a gun. Why? Because that's how I've been trained. When something scary happens, reach for the gun. 

You can quibble with that approach, but SrA Fortson was an AC-130J gunner. He was a gunslinger. 

I mourn for his family. I pray for them. They loaned us their greatest treasure — their son. Their son was trained to protect us from threats abroad. And now he's been killed at home by a police officer inside his own apartment. 

That's not right. It's just not. 

May his memory be a blessing--to his Air Force family, but, most importantly, to his family grieving the unimaginable.