An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Security forces Airmen survive IED attack near Camp Bucca, Iraq

  • Published
  • By Capt. Christopher Moore
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing public affairs
SOUTWEST ASIA --  Don't tell Staff Sgt. Rick Adams that Airmen aren't in the fight ... he's got the shattered elbow and Purple Heart to prove it. 

Sergeant Adams, a member of the 877th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Camp Bucca, Iraq, was hit with an improvised explosive device Oct. 29, about a week before his six-month tour there was over. 

"I wasn't on my last mission but it was one of my last," he said. 

Security forces Airmen at the Camp Bucca theater interment facility patrol convoy routes outside of the camp, securing the dangerous roads for resupply and troop movement. 

At around 7:30 p.m., Sergeant Adams was commanding a four-truck convoy heading back to camp. He was in the lead vehicle passenger seat alongside driver, Senior Airman Christopher Raue, and gunner, Senior Airman Tyler Ginavan, all deployed from Moody Air Force Base, Ga. 

"I was talking over the intercom to the other trucks when there was a flash, we saw smoke and I got a sharp pain in my arm," Sergeant Adams said. "Once they got my door open and started working on me, I started barking out orders." 

Airman Ginavan took shrapnel to his calf and Airman Raue was not injured in the blast. 

"I'm really proud of the way we responded to what happened," Sergeant Adams said.  "Our training kicked in and we made it back alive." 

Sergeant Adams was treated at the TIF hospital and is now en route to Germany and then to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va., where he'll undergo more surgery on his arm. Other members of his unit will redeploy back to the United States in the next few days. 

While it's unsure when Sergeant Adams will make it back to duty, he's very clear on what other Airmen outside the wire need to do in dangerous situations. 

"Just keep doing the right thing," the Indianapolis native said. "It's very unforgiving out there. Make sure you get yourself and your team back in one piece." 

Camp Bucca was also where Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Jacobson, the Air Force's first female Airman to die in the line of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, was killed in September 2005. Like Sergeant Adams, she was also a member of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing. 

"Airmen are doing very dangerous jobs out here," said Chief Master Sgt. Carl Hunsinger, 386 AEW command chief. "This wing is very diverse and our folks play a vital role in fighting the Global War on Terrorism. They're on the front lines directly engaged with the enemy every day."