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Air Force Staff Sergeant Austin Bieren passes

by Jonn Lilyea••24

The Department of Defense reports the non-combat death of yet another Air Force airman;

Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren, 25, of Umatilla, Oregon, died March 28 in northern Syria in a non-combat-related incident while deployed in support of combat operations.

He was assigned to the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.

According to his Facebook page, Bieren was a “Tactical Response Force Assaulter” and a “Security Manager” at Peterson AFB with more than six years of service in the Air Force. He was married, apparently.

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24 thoughts on “Air Force Staff Sergeant Austin Bieren passes”

  2. Oh, the poor fellow. Please let us know what happened if you find out.

    Till then, rest in peace, Airman.

  5. Sorry to hear it. Rest in peace!

    It seems ironic when you are in one of the most dangerous parts of the world and you die from something that isn’t related to that which makes the place dangerous.

    Of course “non-combat related incident” could be anything. Living is a dangerous thing to do – no matter where you are. Accidents and acute illnesses take people out all across America everyday.

    One thing I will say, however, is that being in the military is a dangerous business even in peacetime and in peaceable areas. I have known of many Marines who have died in the relative safety of Camp Lejeune (one I remember was crushed between to 7 ton trucks in our battery gun park and another was an engineer hit by a falling tree that was being cut down).

    Especially when deployed, high op tempo and lots of moving, heavy pieces of machinery can often be fatal. Not sure what happened here, of course, but going forward is always a risk – even if you are not a “front line troop”. People need to remember that.

  9. A question (NOT taking anything away from SSgt Bieren, mind you): are white shirts and black ties with blues a thing now? Semi-formal dress, maybe? It’s been a long time since I reviewed whatever replaced AFR 35-10.

    1. Eden … the semi-formal uniform is the white shirt with regular herringbone tie. I would assume (with no further information that either of us have) that SSgt Bieren is in his semi-formal combination.

    2. One also does not wear the name tag or cap with the semi-formal dress. I think that nails it for the photo.

      (I keep up with AFR 35-10 since it’s what Civil Air Patrol uniforms are based on, and I’m in CAP.)

    3. Thanks, CW. I remember (now that you mention it) the absence of the cover and nametag, but last I knew, it was a black bow tie (or tie tab) that was to be worn with the semi-formal. That was a while back though, and as I recall, officers weren’t authorized to wear the semi-formal anyway (mess dress instead), so the details have gotten a little foggy in my memory.

  12. Sorry to hear of a member of our armed forces passing.

    Anyone care to take a stab at his job?

    2. Security Forces.

      TRF is the newest USAF iteration of the old EST/SRT units. IE SWAT.

      They stood the first one up at FE Warren back in 2005 if I recall correctly.

  13. Another Young Warrior is taken to Valhalla way too soon, Rest In Peace.

  15. Staff Sgt. Berien, May your soul rest in peace. Is so sad to hear from my son which is his fellow soldier in Syria about the sad news. All of them are mourn of what happen. You are a Hero! I salute and thank you for your service. Thoughts and prayers to you family.

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