{"id":4848,"date":"2023-04-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=4848"},"modified":"2023-04-13T00:13:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T00:13:23","slug":"army-reserve-soldier-receives-purple-heart-for-injuries-received-in-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=4848","title":{"rendered":"Army Reserve Soldier receives Purple Heart for injuries received in Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Army Reserve Master Sgt. Daniel Chafin, Mobilization Demobilization Operations Center Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, 2-360th Training Support Battalion, pauses for a photo with leaders from First Army Division West, 120th Infantry Brigade and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, April 05, 2023, at First Army Division West headquarters on Fort Hood, Texas. The group was present to celebrate Chafin\u2019s receipt of the Purple Heart.<\/p>\n

(U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Erika Whitaker)
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\n Col. Paul Bonano, left, Commander, 120th Multi-Functional Training Brigade, gives remarks at Army Reserve Master Sgt. Daniel Chafin\u2019s Purple Heart ceremony, April 05, 2023, at First Army Division West headquarters on Fort Hood, Texas. Chafin received the award for injuries he sustained during a deployment to Iraq in 2011.<\/p>\n

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Killeen, Texas \u2013 Thursday, October 6, 2011, left an indelible memory with Army Reserve Master Sgt. Daniel Chafin, an 85th U.S. Army Reserve Support Command Soldier currently mobilized to Fort Hood, Texas.<\/p>\n

Forty minutes past midnight, on that day, Chafin, truck commander of a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle crew, along his team, Spc. Joshua Berry, gunner; Spc. Lee Dunbar, driver; and Spc. Joel Hendry, medic were hit by an explosive formed projectile as they traveled south on Main Supply Route Tampa during a convoy escort operations mission from Contingency Operating Base Kalsu to COB Adder in Iraq.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the blast hit, I felt an extreme amount of pressure in my skull cavity,\u201d said Chafin, who is currently mobilized as the Mobilization Demobilization Operations Center Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, 2-360th Training Support Battalion, 120th Multi-functional Training Brigade. \u201cThe rest of the symptoms, the persistent headaches, blurry vision, not thinking and speaking clearly, and nausea began to slowly creep up and intensify on me and my crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chafin, a seasoned veteran with two combat deployments, had experience in more than 30 to 40 missions prior to the blast during his third deployment. He mentioned that it was a routine mission and there were no clues that the blast would occur.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were no indicators that something was wrong at that location. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and the general populace that would be out at that time wasn\u2019t driving around to avoid the area,\u201d said Chafin. \u201cI suspect that there was probably someone watching the level of activity coming in and out of the Forward Operating Base. So, I assume they caught an area where the activity was low, and that\u2019s when they placed the Improvised Explosive Devise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the blast did minimal damage to the convoy\u2019s equipment, its impact was still strong enough to throw Chafin\u2019s gunner to one side of the vehicle\u2019s turret. He and his entire crew suffered Traumatic Brain Injuries. Despite the attack, Chafin asked his leadership to let him remain on the deployment and recover from his injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just had this feeling inside me that I didn\u2019t think I did anything special. Coming under attack was part of the job. I wasn\u2019t going home because of this event unless I had no other choice,\u201d Chafin said. \u201cSoldiers were important to me, and I wanted to lead them from the beginning all the way to the end of the deployment.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Chafin recovered, he returned to his teammates and participated in future missions with them.<\/p>\n

The attack happened in 2011; however, Chafin\u2019s leaders presented him with the Purple Heart on April 5, 2023 at First Army\u2019s Division West Headquarters on Fort Hood, Texas. The leaders were instrumental in Chafin receiving the award after so many years. Command Sgt. Major David Sayers, Command Sergeant Major, 2-338th TSBN, explained why he wanted Chafin to receive the award.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just recognizing what he did,\u201d said Sayers. \u201cThe Soldier sacrificed, and he was entitled to it. It was a great opportunity for us to take care of the Soldier, and it\u2019s going to change his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The administrative process to get Chafin the award took between six and eight months.<\/p>\n

\u201cChafin mentioned during (section training) that he went through an IED and suffered TBI,\u201d said Sayers. \u201cI told him, \u2018I\u2019ve known you for a very long time. I\u2019ve been your first sergeant and battalion command sergeant major, I know you don\u2019t have a Purple Heart. Have you thought about the changes in Army policy that would get you one?\u2019<\/p>\n

Sayers went on to share that Chafin did not think about obtaining the award.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, at that time, myself, Chafin, our first sergeant and personnel section went to work,\u201d said Sayers. \u201cWe got the sworn statements and paperwork, went through all the administrative stuff, and got it submitted up to the chain of command, all the way to Human Resource Command so the packet could finally be approved, and the Soldier could be recognized now, 12 years after the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maj. General Joseph Edwards, Commanding General of First Army Division West, acknowledged that some Soldiers had combat wounds that were visible and invisible.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I wish our Soldiers could go through a career of selfless service to this great nation with no seen and unseen injuries, but that is, unfortunately, not the case in this high-risk profession that we undertake. And I think it\u2019s only fitting for those Soldiers who are injured in combat operations, whether it\u2019s as gruesome as missing a limb or maybe not so outwardly as gruesome, as a TBI such as this case. Either way, they are injured, and these injuries affect them for the rest of their lives. And I think the Purple Heart is a fitting tribute to their selfless service to this great nation and to the United States Army.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chafin, a grocery night manager, explained why he continued his Army Reserve service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to continue to lead, train, develop and mentor other Soldiers as they come up,\u201d said Chafin. \u201cI wanted to share my knowledge to all of them before I ultimately retired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sgt. 1st Class Alicia Tamayo, Observer Coach\/Trainer, 120th Infantry Brigade, praised Chafin\u2019s career mentorship.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a different way of thinking, and sometimes you need that outside perspective and another way of thinking to approach a problem,\u201d said Tamayo. \u201cHe really gets your gears thinking so you can find the right answer within Army Regulation to solve whatever problem you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, Chafin\u2019s wife, Rachel, described her feelings about her husband\u2019s receipt of the Purple Heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m absolutely not surprised that he would get any type of award in his career. I know that his career means so much to him. He\u2019s the type of person who puts absolutely everything into his job. He\u2019s willing to make whatever sacrifices he needs to make for his brothers and sisters in arms and his country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 U.S. Army Reserve Master Sgt. Daniel Chafin, Mobilization Demobilization Operations Center Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, 2-360th Training Support Battalion, pauses for a photo with leaders from First Army Division West, 120th Infantry Brigade and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, April 05, 2023, at First […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4850,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4848"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4853,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4848\/revisions\/4853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}