Airman finishes deployment with Purple Heart

Published May 12, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Emily F. Alley
451st AEW Public Affairs

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- On a Sunday afternoon, May 8, at Kandahar Airfield, a courtyard full of people lined up to shake the hand of Senior Airman Andrew Dane. Airmen stood in line to thank him for the sacrifice that earned him the Purple Heart.

"He marched towards the sound of guns, marched to where the enemy was," said Maj. Gen. Charles W. Lyon in his comments during the ceremony. "He fully recovered physically, and with resilience."

After eight months and two deployments to Afghanistan, the medal was finally clipped to Airman Dane's uniform. He had just completed his second tour as a Tactical Air Control Party journeyman, assigned to the 807th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron at Kandahar Airfield. Dane said his award ceremony was the result of months of work on behalf of his squadron leadership, including his commander, Lt. Col. Dan Vasenko.

"We knew he qualified," said the commander. "We wanted to make sure he received the decoration."

Dane was wounded by an Improvised Explosive Device attack during deployment last year. He was walking single file with a group of soldiers through a field. The man behind him stepped on a mine.

"Any one of us could have set off the mine since we were moving single file," said Dane.

He was walking about five feet ahead of the mine when it exploded. Shards of rock and bone sprayed over him and the metal antenna was severed from the radio on his back. The left side of his face was numb for hours. It took days for the hearing to return to his left ear.

After leaving on a medical evacuation, someone informed Airman Dane that he was bleeding. In the shock and confusion, he hadn't even realized it.

He was treated at a Role 1 hospital, where he said fragments of debris were removed from his neck. A few months later, Dane had additional work done to his neck and documentation was collected to show he qualified for the Purple Heart. Lt. Col. Vasenko worked to make sure the packet was complete.

"We have guys outside the wire every day," he said of the Airmen in his career field. "Just yesterday one of our locations in Kandahar dodged small arms fire; they helped with perimeter defense."

The TACP career field deploys with the Army. They fight beside them and call in A-10 Warthogs to provide air support. Dane said his most memorable mission, besides when he was wounded, was calling in an air strike while his group was under attack. He mentioned that the experience has given him a greater appreciation for the Army.

"Nobody wants a Purple Heart," he said after describing how he received his wounds. "I was fortunate I didn't get hurt worse than I did."

A few days after his ceremony, he boarded a flight to take him to the United States. He'd completed his deployment, and his enlistment.

In a few months, he plans to attend the Air Force Academy.

Airman Dane is one of ten prior service cadets selected to begin the academy this year. While he said the Purple Heart itself does not make him a better leader, the experience may allow him to better relate to Airmen who may be wounded. Someday, he hopes to become an A-10 pilot.

In his next deployment, he doesn't want to call in the airstrikes, but to fly them.