Another Stupid Soldier

Airman 1st Class Corey Hernandez pulled the trigger. Nothing was supposed to happen, except the metallic click of the hammer striking the firing pin.

Instead, the pistol fired.

Senior Airman Michael Garcia fell to the floor of his apartment, just outside Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., a bullet in his head from his own gun fired by one of his best friends.

Police called what the airmen were doing “horseplay.”

The men had been playing a game, one that tests faith and wills, one increasingly common in the military. Two months ago, four Marines received time in the brig for their roles in the death of a Marine killed in Iraq while playing the game, called Trust.

Until Dec. 10, when the 23-year-old Garcia died, the Air Force had not had any reported incidents of airmen playing Trust.

Today, Hernandez, 21, faces charges of manslaughter and use of a weapon to commit a felony. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 11 in Sarpy County Court, the local civilian jurisdiction. If convicted of both charges, he could be sentenced to up to 70 years in prison, according to Nebraska sentencing guidelines.

Offutt airman killed in apartment shooting

BELLEVUE, Neb. — An airman stationed at Offutt Air Force Base has died after being shot in the head at a Bellevue apartment.

Bellevue Police Department officials identified the victim as 23-year-old Michael Garcia.

Another airman, 21-year-old Corey Hernandez, has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Police say Hernandez was among three men in the apartment with Garcia at the time of the shooting. It was reported just before 1 a.m. Friday.

Hernandez was being held by the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Department jail.