Aaron Bushnell was a 25-year-old from Whitman, Massachusetts. He was a cyber-defense operations specialist stationed at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland. Bushnell was an “aspiring software engineer” who was “pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering from Western Governor’s University,” according to his LinkedIn account. He grew up in a strict religious community on Cape Cod known as the Community of Jesus, which the Independent reported has posted pro-Isreal content on X (formerly Twitter). Elsewhere, CBS News likened it to a “Christian cult.”
Bushnell had been on active duty since 2020 and apparently joined the military as a last resort due to financial problems brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Intercept determined the Reddit social media account with the handle acebush1 belonged to Bushnell. Throughout the last few years, he posted on the account about his regret in joining the military. “I’m sticking it out to the end of my contract as I didn’t realize what a huge mistake it was until I was more than halfway through, and I only have a year left at this point,” he wrote on Reddit. “However it is a regret I will carry the rest of my life.” Bushnell’s posts also show an ever-increasing pro-Palestinian stance.
