SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A military service member died after a severe fall while rappelling from the roof to midfield before a University of Texas at San Antonio football game honoring the military. Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs said the service member assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, was taken Saturday to a local hospital, where he later died. An investigation was underway into what led up to the incident at UTSA’s annual Salute to the Armed Forces and Veterans game. against the Navy. A video of the fall posted on social media showed the man, dressed in combat fatigues, quickly descending to the ground feet first. The fall occurred with fans in the stands and a band gathered near the field. He was treated on the field for several minutes and carried away on a stretcher. In a statement after the game, UTSA offered counseling service contacts for students and said, “We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the beginning of tonight’s game. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with the affected soldier, his family and his military colleagues.” Demonstration. According to an Air Force website, the service members participating in the rappelling demonstration were part of a team of specialists who join Army and Navy units and help direct air and artillery strikes from forward ground locations. Part of their training includes learning to descend quickly on a rope, sometimes from helicopters that are 100 feet (about 30 meters) or more above the ground. The game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, which UTSA won 38-34, was delayed for about 10 minutes. After the game, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor told reporters that the accident was “heartbreaking” and “tragic.” He said the team could see the effect it had on the crowd of more than 23,000 as soon as the players arrived on the field for the game, although Traylor had only been told there had been an “incident” that would delay the start of the game by about 10 minutes. “You could tell the energy was just gone,” he said. “This really puts things into perspective. It really does.”
