DUSTIN ARD
August 29, 2019
Name:
SFC Dustin Ard
Hometown:
Hyde Park, Utah
DOB:
October 4, 1987
DOP:
August 29, 2019
Entered Service:
2011
Deployments:
Dustin deployed twice to Afghanistan in support of Resolute Support Mission and participated in multiple Joint Combined Exchange Training exercises in Indonesia.
Units:
2nd Battalion, 1st SFG (A)
Joint Base Lewis — McChord, Washington
Education:
His military education includes the Basic, Advanced, and Senior Leader Courses; U.S. Army Airborne School; Military Free Fall Course; Special Operations Joint Terminal Attack Controller Course; Special Operations Sensitive Site Exploitation Course; Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape School; Korean Special Operations Language Course; and the Special Forces Qualification Course.
Awards & Decorations:
Ard’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal (second award); National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal (Campaign Star); Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (third award); Army Service Ribbon; NATO Medal; Army Special Forces Tab; Combat Infantry Badge; Parachutist Badge and Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge. Staff Sgt. Ard was promoted to Sgt. 1st Class, August 1, 2019, and posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.
Survived By:
Dustin is survived by his wife, Mary and daughter, Reagan (7).
Sgt. 1st Class Dustin B. Ard, 31, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, died August 29, 2019, from wounds sustained during combat operations in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. Born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, October 4, 1987, Ard enlisted in the Army in Hyde Park, Utah in 2011, as a Special Forces candidate through the 18X program. He was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina and attended Special Forces Assessment and Selection and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2015. Ard was then assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st SFG (A) at Joint Base Lewis — McChord, Washington, as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant.
