Barksdale EOD Airman survives IED, receives Purple Heart

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sarah Kusek
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  A Barksdale Airman assigned to the 2d Civil Engineer Squadron here received a purple heart March 21 for injuries he received during a recent mission in Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Jack Turner, 25, sustained injuries while on a mission with his explosive ordnance disposal team to clear a Joint Direct Attack Munition crater that had taken out a small bridge south of Baghdad.

In a best-case scenario the EOD team would have been able to remotely clear the crater, but the terrain had become too treacherous for their vehicle to safely navigate three kilometers from the crater's location.

Sergeant Turner, who is currently serving his third deployment in Iraq, was forced to lead his team on foot to the site.

"The operating area we were in was really restrictive for our vehicle almost everywhere we went," said Sergeant Turner. "It's not uncommon us to have to dismount our vehicle to get to an incident site, but it was out of the ordinary that we had to navigate three clicks on foot."

Once the team arrived on site, the terrain again changed the team's plan of action. It proved to be too rough for the team to use the robot they had with them so Sergeant Turner and a Soldier moved forward to clear the crater with a metal detector while the rest of the team provided perimeter security.

"The metal detector was useless because of all the rubble and fragmentation from the JDAM," the sergeant explained. "I had to clear the inside of the crater by hand."
After successfully clearing the crater, Sergeant Turner was beginning to walk to the other side when he stepped on a pressure-initiated improvised explosive device, which detonated directly to his right.

"It took a few seconds after the detonation for me to fully comprehend what exactly had happened," recalled Staff Sgt. Ian Wise, one of Sergeant Turner's teammates. "When I saw him stumbling out of the smoke and dust, I expected the worst; I know these kinds of accidents never turn out well."

However, Sergeant Turner was able to get out of the kill zone so medics could provide first-aid to him in a safe area.

"By the time he had made it back to our location and a little dust had settled, I realized that there was still another member of our team downrange who needed help," Sergeant Wise explained. "I rushed down to him at the edge of the crater and, with the help from a Soldier, brought him back to the medics so they could give him the attention he needed.

"After the two men were patched up, we all realized how lucky they were to still be alive," he added.

The injured Soldier and Sergeant Turner were medically evacuated to the Green Zone hospital in central Baghdad.

Sergeant Turner's injuries included heavy fragmentation to both legs and right arm, soft tissue blast damage to his left leg, two ruptured ear drums and a severe concussion. The soldier received fragmentation to his left thigh and face.

Sergeant Turner, a Butler, Pa., native, has been in the Air Force since January 2002 and has been stationed at Barksdale for four years.

"Sergeant Turner is an outstanding Airman and has dedicated the last four years of his life and career fighting terrorism abroad to protect the freedom and liberty of those at home," said Capt. Michael Stefanovic, 2d EOD Flight Commander. "Over his last three deployments he has personally cleared more than 400 IEDs in Iraq."

"Above all, he leads with the Air Force motto Fly, Fight, Win. He is the epitome of the battlefield Airmen," Captain Stefanovic added.

Sergeant Turner's leadership concurs.

"He performs a critical and most-dangerous mission on the ground in the area of responsibility. Nonetheless, he executes all tasks with zeal and professionalism, as only someone who loves their country and their job could," 2d CES Commander Lt. Col. Justin Davey said. "Sergeant Turner exemplifies the warrior ethos."

Sergeant Turner is currently recovering from his injuries in the AOR, but has not returned to duty.

Other military awards and decorations he has earned include two Army Commendation Medals, a Bronze Star, an Air Force Combat Action Medal and a Navy Achievement Medal.