KUWAIT: In the space of 72 hours, two airmen deployed to Kuwait have died in separate vehicle mishaps. Staff Sergeant Ronald J Ouellette, 23, of Merrimack, New Hampshire, died Sept 14 in a single-vehicle ATV crash on the flight line at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Defense Department officials announced Wednesday. The incident was not combat-related and is under investigation.

The tragedy closely follows the death of another Massachusetts-based airman deployed to Kuwait. On Sept 12, Senior Airman Jason Kai Phan, 26, was killed in a "single-vehicle noncombat-related" accident while he was conducting a patrol around the perimeter of Ali Al Salem. That incident, which left two other airmen injured, is also under investigation. Phan was from Anaheim, California, but was stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts.