Kadena Airman awarded Purple Heart, AF Combat Action Medal

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tara A. Williamson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Sunset. A beautiful image.

Mortar fire breaks the silence. Every night, like clockwork, an attack comes from a nearby enemy village.

"On the third day, our team was assigned a mission to go in and assault the village," said Senior Airman Nicholas Robillard. "That night, under the cover of darkness, we walked about three kilometers through multiple villages to the village the enemy was in."

With one other soldier, Robillard moved through a building and began securing rooms.

"With the [Navy] SEALs, the [Army Special Forces] and a team of Afghan commandos, we assaulted four buildings and as I entered a compound, in one of the rooms, I got shot," he said as he paused to reflect. "After I got shot I crawled out of the building into a position of concealment and applied tourniquets to myself."

Airman Robillard was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Force Combat Action Medal Jan. 27 for his actions during a deployment in Afghanistan last August.

"Obviously things could've gone better, but it was a learning experience and I don't regret it at all," said the New Hampshire native. "When all was done we killed four [enemy combatants], one of which was a high-value target, and there were two weapons caches discovered."

Robillard is a pararescueman with Kadena's 31st Rescue Squadron and has currently served five years with the Air Force. He was recognized for sustaining three gunshot wounds when he and his team engaged enemy insurgents on the night of Aug. 19, 2011 while patrolling a village.

"I'm very proud of Nick," said Master Sgt. Eric Baugh, a 31st RQS flight supervisor and the team lead in Afghanistan. "We're happy to see him fight another day with us."

Robillard was honored to receive his awards, and looks forward to being deployed again to continue the mission.

The Purple Heart is awarded to servicemembers wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States or as a result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed forces. The Air Force Combat Action Medal is awarded for actively engaging in ground or air combat with the enemy.