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387th ELRS Airmen awarded decorations for actions in combat

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stacy Fowler
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  It's a typical day in Iraq and you're riding along dusty roads in an armored tactical vehicle. You've been trained, you've been deployed for a while and you know what to expect. You wipe the sweat from your forehead and take a mental note of what you're going to eat for dinner.

As visions of hot chow enter your mind, something unexpected happens. Time seems to slow to a crawl as the shockwave hits you. Waves of nausea assault your stomach; the searing sound of thunder effectively negates your hearing protection. You immediately begin to smell the acrid smoke pouring into the cabin, and the copper taste of blood mixes with your saliva.
For two Airmen from the 387th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, that scenario became reality during the final months of Operation New Dawn in Iraq. On that day, leadership, calm thought and superior training made all the difference between life and death.

For these Airmen, their battlefield was sometimes on roads, under bridges and over passes during the final months of Operation New Dawn in Iraq .

Staff Sgt. Christopher Wiedmer, a 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle maintainer from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received during the last months of the U.S.'s presence in Iraq.  He and his driver, Airman 1st Class Daniel Clark, from the 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Royal Air Force Mildenhall, U.K., were transporting equipment out of Iraq when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device hidden in a pile of trash.

"We were coming out of the area around Tikrit and in the lead navigation vehicle, carrying an x-ray scanner and a light-all," Wiedmer said. "We'd just gone around a roundabout, and the front gunner truck had already passed the IED, when BOOM!"

Luckily for Wiedmer and Clark, only the concussion wave from the blast penetrated the cab.

One of the scariest things, Wiedmer said, was that he never saw the actual device even though he was looking almost directly at it when it detonated.

"It must have been really buried under that trash pile," he said. "But that trash pile looked a lot like the other trash piles you see alongside the road. And while that wasn't the first IED I've seen go off, it was definitely the closest!"

That morning began with what was an average mission, on an average day, for the 387th ELRS.

"We'd been on a lot of these trips since the drawdown started," Clark said. "We always keep our eyes open, looking for things that just don't fit, because even though we were leaving Iraq, we weren't out yet. But that doesn't mean you don't have fun talking with your partner, especially if you're in a convoy for 10 hours. On that day, were talking about something weird - beef brisket or something - when suddenly there was a huge bang, the truck jumped up, and there a big fireball."

Both Clark and Wiedmer had been through intensive training and knew what to do: keep their cool and do what comes next.

"The truck was still drivable," Clark said. "So we checked each other out, made sure we didn't have any broken bones or major bleeding, and then got the heck out of there. You NEVER want to stay in the kill zone, because that IED might have only been one of several just waiting to go off.

Once the convoy reached the base, they did a more thorough check. Both the x-ray scanner and light-all were damaged, and Wiedmer was having difficulty remembering his birthday. He was rushed to the clinic, where he was diagnosed with a ruptured eardrum and "a rung bell, according to my doctor," Wiedmer said.

Clark had some bruising, but was released quickly. Wiedmer, however, was almost three weeks recovering from headaches and ear popping. But both recovered, and both went back into Iraq completing missions for the end of OND.

Wiedmer was awarded the Purple Heart, and both Wiedmer and Clark received the Army Combat Action Badge and Commendation Medals, as well as the Air Force Combat Action Medal. But medals aside, both view their work here as supporting their military family.

"You can make life-long friends in the military, but what happens out there brings you closer than just friends," Clark said. "You become a family, and nobody watches out for you closer than your family."

The 387th ELRS family is in the process of departing the area of responsibility and its Airmen are returning home. They may be departing these battlefields, but they remain ready to deploy when their country calls again.