AFA graduate killed in Afghanistan

A 2006 Air Force Academy graduate died in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the first female graduate to be killed in action.

The Department of Defense said that 1st Lt. Roslyn L. Schulte, 25, died near Kabul. She was killed by an improvised explosive device. Schulte was originally from St. Louis, Mo., and was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

According to the Air Force Academy, Schulte was the first female academy graduate to ever be killed by an enemy combatant.
Another female graduate, 1st Lt. Laura Piper, died in the mid-90s from a friendly fire incident.

A total of 10 Air Force Academy graduates have died so far in Operation Enduring Freedom.

While at the academy, Schulte majored in political science and graduated with academic and military honors. She was also captain of the women's lacrosse team. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, she also interned for former Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard and became a group commander - one of the academy's highest positions.

Her brother, Todd Schulte, is the chief of staff to Rep. Scott Murphy, R-N.Y.

Schulte went into military intelligence after graduating from the Air Force Academy. According to the Post-Dispatch, she had been in Afghanistan since February and taught Afghan military officials how to gather and interpret military intelligence.

Gazette staff writer Lance Benzel contributed to this report.