Long Career in Military’s Elite Spirals Into a Killing and a Suicide
After two decades in the Army Appropriate Forces, several deployments across and a assignment in the F.B.I., Steven Bellino switched to the Air Force to become an aristocratic pararescue charity able to jump from planes and save aircrews abaft adversary lines. The adage of the rescuers is, “That others may live.”But endure week, just a few months into training, Baker Bellino, adverse court-martial for getting absent afterwards leave, absolved into his squadron’s address at Joint Abject San Antonio, in Texas, with two pistols and gunned down his commander, Lt. Col. William Schroeder, according to a Department of Aegis spokeswoman, who said the baker again asleep himself.
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| Long Career in Military’s Elite Spirals Into a Killing and a Suicide |
The circling into abandon appears to accept amorphous if Air Force trainers said Baker Bellino, 41, bootless a analytical concrete ability bathe test, adventurous his hopes of acceptable a pararescue specialist and catastrophe his continued aggressive career. He anon larboard his abject afterwards permission and was adverse abuse and adjournment from the Air Force.
“A lot of Appropriate Forces guys, their character is absolutely captivated up in their work,” said a Appropriate Forces soldier who served with Baker Bellino. “You yield that away, and they are shattered.”
The soldier and three others who served with him discussed Baker Bellino on the action that they not be articular because the killing is beneath analysis and they said the aggressive ordered them not to allege about it. The Pentagon did not absolution accepted annal of Baker Bellino’s service, adage they were not readily available. A amount of ancestors associates beneath to be interviewed.
Sergeant Bellino adherent his activity to getting what accompany and colleagues alleged a warrior. He abutting the Army in 1992 afterwards admission from top academy in Parma Heights, Ohio, and was anon alleged for the aristocratic Appropriate Forces, according to Daniel Conway, a advocate who represented him in the court-martial proceedings. As allotment of his training, he went through arduous action courses and abstruse Arabic and Spanish. In 1999, his advocate said, he deployed on a peacekeeping mission to Kosovo.
In 2002, Baker Bellino confused to an Army National Guard Appropriate Forces accumulation in Ohio. He backward in the National Guard until 2015, extensive a rank of baker aboriginal class. His Appropriate Forces aggregation deployed at atomic four times during that aeon — added than any added assemblage in the Ohio Army National Guard, according to a 2008 bounded account address — traveling to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. During those deployments, at atomic one soldier in his aggregation was asleep and teams saw what one Appropriate Forces soldier who served in the aggregation alleged “a lot of abhorrent stuff.”
Soldiers declared Baker Bellino as accomplished, able and amenable but socially awkward, and said he congenital his activity about his service.
Another man who served with Baker Bellino and became a abutting acquaintance said he had little alfresco the military. “Guys like Steve accept been warriors so long, they are about absorbed to getting deployed,” said a man who served with Baker Bellino and became a abutting friend. “They appear aback to the United States and there is no abode for them,” he said. “My affection hurts for anybody involved.”
While not deployed, Baker Bellino formed across as a clandestine aegis contractor, his advocate said, accomplishing what were finer noncombatant deployments. Soldiers said those deployments were in Iraq. In his chargeless time he advised action approach like knife affronted and aperture breaching, the longtime acquaintance said. He never drank or smoked and was acutely fit.
Sergeant Bellino had no accouchement and never married. His alone aggregation at home was a single, sprawling abode plant, which was all his affairs would allow, his acquaintance said, but it had its own allowance and he lavished it with attention. A Facebook page with Baker Bellino’s name, affiliated to his ancestors members, was bald except for endorsements of a few Ohio restaurants and the columnist Ayn Rand.
A woman who answered the buzz at a abode acceptance to his accompanying brother, beneath to analyze herself, but said, “We’re heartbroken, he was such a admiring son and brother and uncle.”
In 2011, Baker Bellino became an F.B.I. appropriate agent, which his acquaintance said was a constant goal, but Mr. Bellino told his acquaintance he begin himself ashore in an appointment accomplishing paperwork. He accommodated afterwards two years, the F.B.I. said. Afterwards leaving, he capital to go aback to the Appropriate Forces abounding time, but could not acquisition a slot, his advocate said. Instead he went to the Air Force, which brought him in as a abstruse baker — a rank agnate to the one he captivated in the National Guard.
On June 30, he showed up at the 342nd Training Fleet at Lackland Air Force Abject on Joint Abject San Antonio to alpha the ambitious pararescue program. In August, an Air Force trainer said Baker Bellino bootless allotment of a concrete ability analysis in which he had to bathe the breadth of a basin underwater, according to Mr. Conway, and became affronted because he acquainted he was getting advised unfairly and affected out of the program.
The Air Force beneath to comment, citation the continuing investigation.
Facing dismissal, Baker Bellino larboard the abject afterwards permission for 10 days, abiding to his ancestors in Ohio, his advocate said. If the baker disappeared, Mr. Conway added, the Air Force asked added airmen if he was suicidal.
The Air Force alleged Baker Bellino in Ohio and abiding him to return. If he did, the Air Force answerable him with getting AWOL. He was appointed to face court-martial on April 27.
The Air Force did a brainy bloom assay in December as allotment of the court-martial process, and begin Baker Bellino fit for trial. An Air Force aegis advocate who was initially assigned to him by the aggressive requested a second, absolute examination, but the Air Force denied the request, Mr. Conway said. Mr. Conway beneath to call the allegation of the exam.
A anniversary afore the shooting, Baker Bellino agreed to an authoritative acquittal in lieu of court-martial — a accord aggressive prosecutors frequently bang with AWOL troops.
On April 8, while the acquittal was pending, Baker Bellino showed up at fleet address with two Glock pistols, according to the Air Force. He accursed at the squadron’s aboriginal baker but missed, according to The San Antonio Express-News, which cited bearding aggressive and law administration sources, again Colonel Schroeder stepped in and told the aboriginal baker to run.
Colonel Schroeder, 39, was himself a busy Appropriate Operations officer, accepting served in Iraq and Afghanistan and been awarded a Bronze Star and a amount of awards for admirable service.
He oversaw training of all battlefield airmen — aristocratic troops, including pararescuers, who plan on the arena in adverse areas. A above Eagle Scout and ardent ultramarathon runner, he was affiliated and had two adolescent sons.
When Colonel Schroeder approved to stop the gunman, he was attempt in the accoutrements and head. Baker Bellino again asleep himself, according to a aggressive spokesman.
Chief Master Sgt. Matthew Nugent, one of the squadron’s chief enlisted airmen, said in a Facebook column that Colonel Schroeder was asleep by a annoyed baker adverse a antidotal hearing.
He added: “Know that Bill went out swinging. He selflessly gave his activity to assure our 1Sgt and endless others who were in the building.”
In a column on the official Facebook page of the 37th Training Wing, Brig. Gen. Trent Edwards, the addition commander, bidding accord for the families of both of the dead.
“I formed carefully with Lt Col Schroeder; and my wife Vanessa and I knew his family,” General Edwards said. “He was an amazing Airman, ancestor and husband. Our focus at this time is to yield affliction of Lt Col Schroeder’s ancestors who is actuality in the bounded area. He leaves abaft a wife and two baby accouchement — we will affliction for and abundance them as best we can. We will aswell yield affliction of the ancestors associates and accompany who are afflicted the accident of TSgt Bellino.”
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