Photo By Senior Airman Trevor Calvert | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Erixon, right, 86th Security Forces Squadron...... read more read more
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The incoming alarm wasn't new, Staff Sgt. Andrew Erixon's team had heard it many times before on that deployment. This time, the attack began, and the rest came down to training.
Erixon, 86th Security Forces Squadron deployment manager, received a Purple Heart during a ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, May 13, for injuries he sustained leading his team through the attack.
The Purple Heart is the oldest U.S. military decoration still awarded to service members. It traces back to 1782, when George Washington created the Badge of Military Merit to recognize his soldiers, and was reintroduced in 1932 on the 200th anniversary of his birthday. It is presented to those wounded or killed in action against an enemy of the United States.
The ceremony closed out a chapter for Erixon. He'd thought about this day for a long time, two years since the attack, much of the time spent wondering how, or whether, the day would come.
"It feels like I'm closing that chapter," Erixon said. "Now I can focus on what's ahead."
When the attack came, Erixon was acting as a squad leader. He moved his Airmen towards cover and ran for a bunker with another Airman. Then, a munition struck close by as they reached it.
"Honestly, nothing goes through your mind when something like that happens," Erixon said. "You just follow your training. Your brain shuts off, and you do what you remember from your training."
After the all-clear was given, Erixon went back to work, helping to account for his people and directing his team to safety. It wasn't until later, watching him at his post, that his leadership realized something was wrong.
Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Valenzuela, 75th SFS operations superintendent, was Erixon's flight chief during the deployment. He noticed Erixon had gone pale and was struggling to hear his radio. Erixon told him he was fine. He wasn't, he'd been close enough to the blast to receive a concussion, and Valenzuela coordinated his medical care.
"His actions surprised me that day," Valenzuela said. "Being in the vicinity of an explosion and then continuing to lead a recovery operation while suffering an injury, that says a lot about his character and grit. He didn't want to leave his Airmen."
Valenzuela had known Erixon since 2022, as his flight chief during the deployment. He described him as a dependable, tenacious non-commissioned officer, not afraid to admit when he's wrong or when he doesn't know an answer, and someone his Airmen could go to with anything. Where Valenzuela credits the man, Erixon credits the training.
"It shows me the training is very, very important," Erixon said. “The battle drills, the small things, the repetition that takes over when there's no time to think.”
Erixon was one of several defenders wounded in the attack. For Valenzuela, the moment meant more than recognition for one Airman.
“No leader wishes to see any of their troops wounded in combat," Valenzuela said. “The goal was to go out the door with all my Airmen and come home with all my Airmen.”
| Date Taken: | 05.13.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.15.2026 09:24 |
| Story ID: | 565371 |
| Location: | RAMSTEIN-MIESENBACH, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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