Deployed Dover Airman recognized for bravery

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Craig Lifton
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq --  Senior Airman Derek Larson is the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing's Tuskegee Airman of the Week for Oct. 13-19.

Larson, a fire protection driver-operator with the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron here, was dispatched to the East entry control point for a medical emergency and saved the lives of two Iraqis with gunshot wounds.

"We provided basic life support," said Larson, who is deployed from Dover Air Force Base, Del. "I personally treated a neck wound with a dressing to prevent air from entering the wound."

"Larson is a superb Airman," said Staff Sgt. James Butler of the 332nd ECES, who is also deployed from Dover. "He does most the things he does, not for the attention, he just does it."

Larson, a native of Omaha, Neb., also administered treatment to a five-year-old Iraqi child with second-degree burns and flawlessly managed a $386,000 airfield extinguisher program.

In his off-duty time, Larson volunteered at the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility, assisting with care and transport of wounded warriors. He also trained to be on the rescue air mobility squad where he has perfected his helo egress and victim triage skills, vital to the outside-the-wire rescue capability.