Air Force Academy Cadet Dies Suddenly While Walking to Class

A cadet at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, died after suffering a sudden medical emergency while he was heading to class Monday, the service academy announced.

Cadet 3rd Class Hunter Brown of Lake Charles, Louisiana, died after he "experienced a medical emergency while leaving his dormitory for class," according to a Tuesday evening news release from the academy. The sophomore was 21 years old.

"It is with a heavy heart and profound sadness I share with you that we have lost one of our own," Brig. Gen. Paul D. Moga, commandant of cadets, told students before classes Wednesday. "He leaves behind friends, grieving teammates, a grieving cadet wing, and a devastated family."

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The El Paso County Coroner's Office in Colorado Springs did not immediately return a phone call from Military.com inquiring about the medical emergency that led to Brown's death.

First responders were called right after Brown suffered his medical emergency and "attempted life saving measures which were ultimately unsuccessful," according to the news release.

Brown graduated from the Air Force Academy Preparatory School in May 2021 and joined the Air Force Academy's football team, where he played offensive lineman. He was part of the team's 2021 and 2022 winning seasons.

"He was a pure joy to coach and have as a teammate," Troy Calhoun, head football coach at the Air Force Academy, said in the news release. "He was tough, a great worker, and no one unselfishly pulled harder for others than Hunter. His mom and dad, Candyce and Dustin, raised a wonderful son who made each of us a better person. We love our great brother, and our thoughts and prayers are with Hunter's incredible soul and his family."

Brown was pursuing a degree in management, as well as a minor in French, according to the academy.

"The entire U.S. Air Force Academy mourns his loss, and our hearts and condolences are with his family, his squadron, and all who were touched by this incredible young man," Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, the academy's superintendent, said in the news release.

This past May, a freshman at the academy died after being hospitalized for nearly two weeks.

Cadet 4th Class Ryong Adams, 23, of Adams, Tennessee, had been hospitalized off-campus in Colorado Springs after having "a fall involving a skateboard," an academy spokesman told Military.com at the time.

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

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