Air Force officials are investigating after an airman died during a routine physical training assessment last week at Port Hueneme, California.
Airman 1st Class Syamukonka Moonga, assigned to Port Hueneme’s 346th Training Squadron, died on Aug. 4 at the California technical training site for vehicle maintenance and management. He reportedly died on the scene.
“Airman First Class Syamukonka Moonga collapsed during the physical training assessment,” an Air Force news release said. “His teammates and on-site military training leaders immediately began lifesaving measures, which were continued by medical personnel upon their arrival, but unfortunately, he could not be revived.”
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The circumstances of Moonga’s death have not yet been publicly released. The incident occurred just weeks after a Marine sergeant on reserve duty died during a physical training test on June 24, Military.com previously reported.
Both deaths come as the entire Department of Defense is reexamining physical fitness standards within the military services and as Air Force leadership has openly discussed potential changes to its physical training tests, such as expanding the existing 1.5-mile run to a 2-mile requirement instead.
A service record for Moonga was not provided by an Air Force spokesperson.
“This assessment was not an official Air Force physical fitness test, rather a training requirement designed to prepare trainees to meet physical requirements at their first duty station,” Angelina Casarez, a spokesperson for the 37th Training Wing, said in a statement to Military.com on Monday.
Casarez added that “the cause of death remains under investigation.”
The 346th Training Squadron is one of four geographically separated units under the 37th Training Group, which is aligned under the 37th Training Wing out of Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, the news release detailed.
Chief Master Sgt. David Flosi, the Air Force’s top enlisted leader, hinted in an internal message to top noncommissioned officers in June that changes would be coming to the service’s physical fitness tests, including going to “twice a year” assessments instead of a single yearly exam; scoring body composition with height-to-waist ratio charts instead of the prior abdominal circumference ratio; and the expanded 2-mile run requirement, Military.com previously reported.
Those changes were a part of a 10-month review process and were in line with a March memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth examining all service branches’ standards, an Air Force spokesperson told Military.com at that time.
“We mourn the loss of Airman First Class Moonga, a young airman with a bright future. His joy, kindness, and enthusiasm will be deeply missed,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Ely, commander of the 346th Training Squadron, said in the news release. “Our thoughts are with Syamukonka’s family, friends and fellow service members during this difficult time.”
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