The third U.S. service member to have been killed in Afghanistan in less than two weeks has been identified and leaves behind a growing family.
Sgt. 1st Class Dustin Ard, a Green Beret from Idaho, died after leaving a helicopter at the start of a joint mission with Afghan forces in Zabul province on Thursday, his family told an Idaho state legislator. No further details about his death were given.
Ard leaves behind a young daughter and his wife, who is pregnant. He would have turned 32 in October.
“We received news that we lost our son Dustin in Afghanistan,” said his father, Bruce Ard, according to a Facebook post Friday by Idaho state Rep. Rod Furniss. “My heart has a hole so big I can hardly stand it. He was the finest young man I have ever known. Not because he was my son but because of the person he is.”
He continued, “A great son, brother, father and husband. He loved his country and was the kind of person we should all be. Son, I love you and know we will see each other again. I will miss you every day I live without you. Love Dad.”
The Post Register reported that Army Col. Owen G. Ray announced Ard’s death in a post on the Chapter 16 Special Forces Association’s Facebook page.
“Dustin was a warrior — an accomplished, respected and loved Special Forces Soldier that could strike up a friendship with anyone, anywhere,” Ray said in the announcement. “Our deepest condolences go to SFC Ard’s family. We collectively mourn the loss of our Soldier and honor his service to the Nation.”
Bruce Ard, who is the mayor of the town of Ammon, Idaho, said his son joined the Army seeking a “new challenge after completing a mission and college,” according to the Post Register. He served in the Army for nine years and became a Green Beret, but he still made family a priority during his service.
“He was still just Dustin,” Bruce said, according to the newspaper. “He was a loving, kind, gentle soul, and he knew what he had to do.”
This year has been the deadliest for U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan since December 2014 when the combat mission to the country, Operation Enduring Freedom, formally ended. A total of 15 soldiers have been killed in the country since January.
