Flavio Martinez

Staff Sergeant Flavio A. Martinez sustained injuries in operations against an opposing armed force near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan on 21 December 2015 while participating in Operation Sentinel Eagle.

While conducting security for a routine mission outside the wire approximately six kilometers north of Bagram Airfield, Sergeant Martinez and his 13 member patrol were targeted by a motorcycle-borne improvised explosive device (IED).

As the lead element point-man, Sergeant Martinez was directly responsible for front security of the units five Security Forces Airmen, five Office of Special Investigation Agents and two linguists. During the exfiltration of this mission, his patrol was approached by a Taliban terrorist operating an explosive-laden motorcycle. The Suicide bomber subsequently made a sudden erratic stop and positioned the motorcycle 20 feet behind Sergeant Martinez and centered himself in the middle of the dismounted patrol. The bomber then detonated his deadly explosive device and mortally wounded six Airmen and critically wounded five others.

Despite being thrown from the blast and being separated from his fellow Airmen, Sergeant Martinez heroically assumed sole responsibility for protecting his patrol from a complex attack. Immediately following the attack, Sergeant Martinez treated a comrades wounds and positioned him in the front security position, then selflessly ran into the kill zone to assist his other wounded teammate. He successfully treated the most critically wounded patients until medical evacuation aircraft arrived. Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen, TSgt Joseph Lemm, SSgt Louis Bonacasa SSgt Michael Cinco, SSgt Peter Taub and SSgt Chester McBride all lost their lives.

Remaining calm, Sergeant Martinez continued to enable recovery operations. He guided quick response force to their precise location within 12 minutes after the attack by signaling with a smoke grenade, made repeated trips as a litter team member to carry the fallen to the landing zone, and executed perimeter security for two medical evacuation missions. Following extraction, he ignored his own personal safety and returned to the kill zone a third time to account for sensitive items and personal gear and then provided perimeter security as Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel conducted their assessment.

Martinez later escorted the remains of his fellow defenders from the 105th Base Defense Squadron back to the U.S.

You can watch his Purple Heart medal ceremony conducted from the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, HERE.