{"id":38910,"date":"2019-06-03T17:19:24","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T17:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/03\/shaw-suspends-pt-testing-after-two-airmens-running-related-deaths\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:34:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:34:05","slug":"shaw-suspends-pt-testing-after-two-airmens-running-related-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/06\/03\/shaw-suspends-pt-testing-after-two-airmens-running-related-deaths\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaw suspends PT testing after two airmen\u2019s running-related deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The commander at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina has suspended physical fitness assessments in the wake of two airmen\u2019s recent deaths after running<\/a>, and launched an investigation to see if PT caused their deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior Airman Aaron Hall, 30, of the 20th Component Maintenance Squadron, experienced what the base called health complications last Wednesday during an official physical fitness assessment at one of Shaw\u2019s running tracks<\/a>. He died Saturday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His death followed that of Senior Airman Amalia Joseph, 32, who had a medical emergency<\/a> on Shaw\u2019s other running track during her PT assessment May 24 and died early in the morning of May 26. She was from the same squadron as Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Col. Derek O\u2019Malley, commander of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw, has suspended all PT testing at the base until further notice while the investigation into their deaths is under way, said Capt. Alannah Staver, the 20th\u2019s chief of public affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a devastating couple of weeks here at Shaw, with the loss of our teammates,\u201d O\u2019Malley said in a statement released by Shaw. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what caused these deaths, but we are exploring every possibility to get the answers we need to prevent this from happening again. \u2026 As you can imagine, we are struggling as a team after a very difficult last few weeks, but we will be as transparent as we possibly can as we work through this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staver said O\u2019Malley wants to know if anything related to the PT processes, or environmental factors related to the quarter-mile track or the 0.75-mile out-and-back track, caused the medical complications that resulted in Hall and Joseph\u2019s deaths. Staver said the investigation includes testing the temperatures at the tracks, and O\u2019Malley said the airmen\u2019s work environment is also being examined.<\/p>\n\n\n\t