By 1st Lt. Katrina Cheesman, 24th Special Operations Wing /
Published September 15, 2015
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) -- More than 1,000 family
members, friends and teammates from around the country gathered here Sept. 14
to honor and remember two special tactics Airmen who were killed in action last
month in an insider attack.
As the procession of family members departed the memorial,
nearly 2,000 Air Commandos lined the roads and saluted to honor Capt. Matthew
D. Roland, from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Forrest B.
Sibley, assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron. Both were killed Aug. 26
at a vehicle checkpoint near Camp Antonik, Afghanistan.
“There are no words, lessons (or) themes that could properly
memorialize Matt and Forrest,” said Lt. Col. Paul Brister, the 23rd STS
commander, at the memorial service. “They both lived lives bigger than that.
The best way we can memorialize them is to live life with as much zeal, humor
and love as they demonstrated in theirs.”
Roland, 27, a special tactics officer and team leader, was a
qualified special operations battlefield commander who had deployed three times
in his five years of service. Roland graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy
in 2010 and completed the rigorous special operations training pipeline in
2012. He was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and is survived by his parents
and sibling.
“Matt was anything but typical,” Brister said. “On the
battlefield he was a lion — lethal, precise, humble and compassionate. He was
always flawless. I’m convinced I learned more from him than he could ever learn
from me.”
Roland lived to protect his teammates, said Master Sgt.
Jared Hodges, assigned to the 23rd STS.
“He was our leader, mentor and brother,” Hodges said. “His
biggest fear was letting (us) down.”
Sibley, 31, a combat controller stationed at Pope Army
Airfield, North Carolina, had deployed four times to numerous sensitive
locations in his seven years of service. For his commitment in the face of
consistent danger, he received four Bronze Star medals, one with the Valor
device for bravery against an enemy of the U.S. in combat. He was a native of
Pensacola, Florida, and is survived by his parents and siblings.
Capt. Michael Bain, the 21st STS director of operations,
said Sibley was a selfless man.
“Men like Forrest run toward the sound of chaos,” Bain said.
“He cared more about others than himself.”
Staff Sgt. Bob Sears said Sibley was an incredible warrior,
friend and teammate.
“We are hurting for Forrest and Matt, but they will never be
forgotten,” Sears said. “We will never stop talking about them.”
As tradition dictates, during the memorial service, there
was a final roll call to account for special tactics Airmen. When Roland’s and
Sibley’s names were called three times with no response, Airmen responded they
were no longer present to report for duty, as they were killed in action.
After the conclusion of the ceremony, service members lined
to salute the two battlefield crosses representing both Airmen, which were a
pair of boots, a rifle, their special operations berets and dog tags. Special
tactics Airmen also tacked their flashes, or special operations insignia
normally found on their berets or uniforms, next to the battlefield cross, to
honor their fallen comrades.
Following the memorial, hundreds of special tactics Airmen
saluted Sibley’s coffin, draped in an American flag, as a FA-20 aircraft
completed the dignified arrival before his interment at a local cemetery.
Both Airmen will be interred at military cemeteries with
full military honors at a later date.
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