Luke member shot by insurgent

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Susan Stout
  • (44th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Although it had only been three months since returning from a year-long tour in Korea, a Luke Airman volunteered for a deployment to Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Aime Gaona, 56th Operations Support Squadron intelligence analyst, chose to forego the recuperation period to serve an eight-month deployment at Balad Air Base, Iraq.

A weapons intelligence team member of the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Sergeant Gaona was injured Dec. 19, 2006, while responding to an improvised explosive device outside Kirkuk, Iraq.

After identifying unusual markings which included a pile of rocks on the side of the road and a cassette tape, Sergeant Gaona quickly photographed all of the evidence prior to collection and proceeded to photograph the area across a river bed where the suspect IED "trigger man" would likely have been staged.

When Sergeant Gaona lifted her camera to take a photo, she heard a "pop" and fell to
the ground. She was shot in the leg by an enemy sniper and sustained a fractured femur.

Sergeant Gaona was initially treated at Forward Operating Base Warrior and then transported to the Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Air Base where Col. Larry Jackson, 732nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group commander, presented her with a Purple Heart.

Sergeant Gaona was flown to Landstuhl, Germany, where she underwent surgery and
then another surgery after being transferred Dec. 22, 2006, to Malcolm Grow Center at
Andrews AFB, Md.

"During her deployment, her professional and tireless efforts exploited evidence that directly impacted the success of joint military operations in Iraq," said Lt. Col. David Julazadeh, 56th Operations Support Squadron commander. "She helped diminish the effectiveness of enemy insurgents and assisted in bringing justice to those who financed and emplaced IEDs."

Prior to her injury in December, Sergeant Gaona's Weapons Intelligence Team participated in a nine-vehicle operation in October called Comanche III, whose mission was to bring downan improvised explosive device manufacturer and placer.

At about 11 a.m., Sergeant Gaona's humvee triggered a pressure switch IED that rendered the vehicle destroyed and injured all four passengers. Although she
sustained a concussion and was wounded with a piece of fragmentation from the
IED, Sergeant Gaona immediately began processing the scene and took critical
photographs that enabled Combined Explosive Exploitation Cell members to
document and analyze the data to protect future convoys.

"Sergeant Gaona's relentless WIT support to 16,000 Coalition soldiers, sailors,
Airmen and civilians throughout the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry
Division's battle space, will have a lasting positive effect on the protection of U.S.
forces operating in the area, as well as Iraq's civilian population and infrastructure,"
Colonel Julazadeh said. "For her bravery, Sergeant Gaona was awarded two Purple
Hearts."