Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen, U.S. Air Force, affectionately known as “Major V,” was an accomplished student, leader, and role-model. An Air Force Academy graduate, she was co-captain of the 2002 Division 1 women’s rugby team before being commissioned as a second lieutenant.
After completing her training at the Air Force Special Investigations Academy in 2003, she became a counterintelligence program manager and deployed to Iraq. Vorderbruggen played an integral role in capturing of one of the men associated with Saddam Hussein’s son, who killed U.S. and Iraqi military personnel.
On December 21, 2015, while deployed in Afghanistan, Vorderbruggen was conducting a security foot patrol in a village near Bagram Air Base when a suicide motorcycle bomber killed her and five other Airmen.
Vorderbruggen was one of the first openly gay female U.S. Air Force officers killed in action. She had been a fierce advocate for the repeal of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, a change that made her wife and four year old son eligible for military benefits.
Vorderbruggen served with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations for 13 years. She was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and Air Force Combat Action Medal. She was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 2016, the Air Force Academy unveiled a memorial display honoring Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen. At the ceremony, Chief Master Sergeant Chris VanBurger said, “’Major V’ was an officer who led by example and led from the front. It was what she did every day, day-in and day-out, that makes her a hero.”
Sources:
https://news.va.gov/85817/veteranoftheday-air-force-veteran-adrianna-vorderbruggen/
Fallen Hero honored in Nation’s Capital > Office of Special Investigations > Article Display
Adrianna Vorderbruggen mourned by brother after deadly Afghanistan suicide attack – CBS News
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