SAN ANTONIO — A trainee died from the flu at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, according to U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio.
The congressman said in a statement that the Air Force confirmed to him that trainee Keon McDaniel died from the flu on June 16. Castro also claimed that the influenza outbreak at Lackland has spread to 284 confirmed cases and four hospitalizations.
According to a news release from the Air Force on June 17, McDaniel was in his sixth week of basic training when on June 12 he had a “medical emergency and was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center,” where he later died. The release said that the cause of the “medical emergency” was under investigation.
Castro is now confirming that McDaniel died from the flu, and he criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for rescinding the flu vaccination requirement in April. Hegseth had called the vaccine requirement “absurd” and said he was “restoring freedom” to the military by rescinding it.
The War Department is once again restoring freedom to our Joint Force.
We are discarding the mandatory flu vaccine requirement, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/9K5W8g0NsD
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) April 21, 2026
“This is a tragedy that could have been prevented were it not for the reckless actions of Secretary Hegseth,” Castro said.
The San Antonio Democrat said that he — along with U.S. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn., and Gil Cisneros, D-Calif. — is pushing for the Pentagon to restore the vaccine mandate.
“I introduced an amendment with Rep. Houlahan to reinstate the flu vaccine mandate for all servicemembers, which Republicans in Congress promptly rejected,” said Castro. “I will continue to push for the Pentagon to fully restore its vaccine mandate and protect lives. Our military must be guided by science, not politics.”
The amendment co-sponsored by the three representatives would have required service members to receive flu vaccines under the National Defense Authorization Act.
According to an obituary for McDaniel, the trainee was born in Panama City, Fla., in 2000 and grew up moving around throughout his childhood because his dad was in the Air Force. He graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School in Michigan in 2019.
McDaniel later joined the Michigan Air National Guard and then went to basic training at Lackland, hoping to join the Air Force like his dad and older brother.
“His presence will be sorely missed within our family and the world,” the obituary said. “He was a light radiating and ready to explode, and his irreplaceable presence will be missed by all. His memory and legacy will continue to hold us all together forever.”