Sergeant First Class Dustin B. Ard was born on October 4, 1987, in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He later made his home in Hyde Park, in northern Utah’s Cache Valley, and it was there in 2011 that he enlisted in the Army as a Special Forces candidate through the 18X program, which allows recruits to train directly for the Green Beret.
Dustin was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he attended Special Forces Assessment and Selection. He graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2015 and joined the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, as a Special Forces communications sergeant. The 1st Special Forces Group is oriented toward the Indo-Pacific, and Dustin studied Korean at the Special Operations language course and took part in multiple Joint Combined Exchange Training exercises with partner forces in Indonesia. His military education also includes the Basic, Advanced and Senior Leader Courses, Airborne School, the Military Free Fall Course, the Special Operations Joint Terminal Attack Controller Course, the Special Operations Sensitive Site Exploitation Course and the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course.
Dustin deployed to Afghanistan in support of the Resolute Support Mission. He was promoted to sergeant first class on August 1, 2019, while deployed. Four weeks later, on August 29, 2019, he died of wounds sustained during combat operations in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. He was 31 years old.
“Sgt. 1st Class Ard’s loss is felt across our 1st Special Forces Group Family,” said Colonel Owen G. Ray, the group’s commander. “Our priority now is to take care of his family and our Soldiers.” Dustin was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. His other decorations include an earlier Bronze Star Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, two Army Good Conduct Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, the NATO Medal, the Special Forces Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge and the Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge.
Dustin left behind his wife, Mary, who was expecting their second child, and their young daughter, Reagan. In December 2019 the Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the family’s mortgage through its home program for Gold Star and Surviving families, ensuring that the home Dustin had made for them would remain theirs. He is survived by Mary, Reagan and the son born after his death.
SFC Dustin Ard served as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant with 2nd Battalion, 1st SFG (A). He died from wounds sustained during combat operations in Zabul Province, Afghanistan.
1st SFG (A) Tribute
Sources
- U.S. Army (USASOC): 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Soldier dies from wounds sustained in combat (Sept. 3, 2019)
- Department of Defense: DOD identifies Army casualty (Aug. 2019)
- Green Beret Foundation: Dustin B. Ard
- Tunnel to Towers Foundation: Dustin Ard
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Dustin Ard bio
