Staff Sergeant Dylan J. Elchin was born on June 11, 1993, and grew up in Hookstown, a small community in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He knew early what he wanted to do with his life. At the age of 14 he began training himself for his dream of becoming a special operations Airman, and he graduated from Hopewell Area High School in 2012 already focused on that goal.
Dylan enlisted in the Air Force on August 7, 2012, as a Special Tactics combat controller trainee and went directly into the two-year Combat Control training pipeline. He qualified as a military static-line and free-fall parachutist, an Air Force combat scuba diver and a joint terminal attack controller. He was also a distinguished graduate of Airman Leadership School. After completing the pipeline he was assigned to the 26th Special Tactics Squadron, 720th Special Tactics Group, 24th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.
In August 2018 Dylan deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, embedded with an Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha. His role was to advise the ground force commander, direct close air support aircraft and deliver ordnance on enemy targets. His squadron commander said, “Dylan had an unusual drive to succeed and contribute to the team. He displayed maturity and stoicism beyond his years and was always level-headed, no matter the situation.” A former team leader remembered him as the man everyone wanted on the team, someone who kept a smile on his face and found a way to lift the mood even in the worst of times.
On November 27, 2018, during a joint operation with Afghan forces in Ghazni Province, an improvised explosive device struck Dylan’s vehicle. He was killed along with Captain Andrew Ross and Sergeant First Class Eric Emond of the 3rd Special Forces Group. He was 25 years old.
Dylan’s decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Combat Action Medal, the Air Force Good Conduct Medal and the NATO Medal.
Back home, Beaver County dedicated a bridge in his honor. His grandfather wrote, “Dylan knew the freedom and lifestyle we enjoy here must be protected from evil people wanting to destroy our life. Such love a man must have to lay down his life for his friends and his country, but this is who he was. Dylan was a man who had dreams and the guts to make those dreams come true.” Dylan is survived by his fiancée Jordan Stigers, his brothers Aaron, Ryan, Zachery and Nick, his stepsister Stephanie, his grandparents Ronald and Sandy Bogolea and Dorothy Duez and his great-grandmother Grace Bell.
On November 27, 2018 SSGT Elchin was killed by an improvised explosive device in Ghazni province, Afghanistan.
Memorial Valor Foundation
Sources
- Cannon AFB / AFNS: Special tactics Airman killed in action in Afghanistan (Nov. 28, 2018)
- Air Force Special Tactics: Honor the Fallen, SSgt Dylan Elchin
- VA News: #VeteranOfTheDay Dylan Elchin
- WTAE: Bridge dedicated to fallen airman in Beaver County
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Dylan Elchin bio
