US Air Force service member dead after being found unresponsive on New Mexico base

An airman was pronounced deceased on Tuesday after being found unresponsive outside a gym at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, officials announced. 

U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Quameir A. Harding, a unit deployment manager for the 27th Special Operations Communications Squadron, leaves behind his wife and three children. 

“Q was well known for his mentorship and growing the next generation,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Benjamin Wingler, 27th SOCS commander, said in a statement on Thursday. “He expressed this in so many ways from the Cannon Air Force Base men’s basketball coach to the junior enlisted and officers he molded in the 27 Special Operations Communications Squadron. He left a lasting impression on Cannon and in the Air Force.”

Cannon Air Force Base, which is home to the 27th SOCS, is located in eastern New Mexico on 3,800 acres of land about 15 miles from the border with Texas. 

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A spokesperson for the 27th SOCS said that they did not have any details on his cause of death. 

“Our focus right now is to support his family and all of those affected by this tragic loss,” U.S. Air Force Col. Terence G. Taylor said in a statement. “We have a variety of resources and support mechanisms in place to help anyone that may be impacted by this loss.”

It’s the second death this week for the Air Force after a service member was found dead on Monday at an off-base residence near Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas on Monday.