Major Adrianna M Vorderbruggen
United States Air Force Major Adrianna M. Vorderbruggen, 36, of Plymouth, Minnesota, gave her life, 21 December 2015, when a cowardly suicide bomber drove his explosive laden motorcycle and detonated himself into the a group of six airmen investigators, in Bagram Afghanistan. As agents and airmen they were conducting a patrol as part of an investigation, Major Vorderbruggen was in command of the patrol. Her current billet was as a special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, which investigates felony-level crimes in the U.S. and overseas. She was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 9th Field Investigations Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Adrianna was a 1998 graduate of Wayzata High School, where she was a talented athlete and a three-year starter on the women’s soccer team. She graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2002 and later earned a master’s degree in forensic sciences at George Washington University.
She and her wife, been living near Washington, D.C., with her wife and their 4-year-old son, Jacob. Adrianna met her wife, Air Force veteran Heather Lamb, while both were still active duty. “Our son Jacob and I miss her so much,” she said in an email. “It is important to us that she be remembered first as an Air Force officer, loving mother, wife, daughter and sister, above all else, our consolation is, we know she wanted to be there, she believed in and loved her work, and she was doing important work on behalf of the Afghans and our nation. She has always been my hero, never more so than now.”
In speaking of his daughter, Joseph Vorderbruggen, recalled his daughter “loved life” and “loved the military. Whatever goal she had, she found a way.”
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James Tuesday released the following statement: "The tragic loss of six airmen casts a dark shadow over our Air Force this holiday season. As we collectively mourn with their families and loved ones, let us never forget their courage, bravery, and selflessness. These airmen volunteered to serve their country and by doing so, gave a full measure of devotion. On behalf of all of us, I offer my deepest condolences to their families, friends, and fellow airmen."
Brigadier General Keith Givens, OSI commander further remarked; "The deaths of the four OSI agents make Monday's attack the deadliest day in our command's history."
"Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season," Army Brig. Gen. William Shoffner, a spokesman for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul, said in a statement.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called the attack "a painful reminder of the dangers our troops face every day in Afghanistan" against a resurgent Taliban and the new threat from the growing presence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, in southeastern Afghanistan.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on international forces there since August. Bagram, around 40 km (25 miles) north of Kabul, is one of the main bases for the remaining 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, after international troops ended combat operations last year.
The suicide attack came just a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of the United States and NATO formally ending their combat mission in the country.
Adrianna was a 1998 graduate of Wayzata High School, where she was a talented athlete and a three-year starter on the women’s soccer team. She graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2002 and later earned a master’s degree in forensic sciences at George Washington University.
She and her wife, been living near Washington, D.C., with her wife and their 4-year-old son, Jacob. Adrianna met her wife, Air Force veteran Heather Lamb, while both were still active duty. “Our son Jacob and I miss her so much,” she said in an email. “It is important to us that she be remembered first as an Air Force officer, loving mother, wife, daughter and sister, above all else, our consolation is, we know she wanted to be there, she believed in and loved her work, and she was doing important work on behalf of the Afghans and our nation. She has always been my hero, never more so than now.”
In speaking of his daughter, Joseph Vorderbruggen, recalled his daughter “loved life” and “loved the military. Whatever goal she had, she found a way.”
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James Tuesday released the following statement: "The tragic loss of six airmen casts a dark shadow over our Air Force this holiday season. As we collectively mourn with their families and loved ones, let us never forget their courage, bravery, and selflessness. These airmen volunteered to serve their country and by doing so, gave a full measure of devotion. On behalf of all of us, I offer my deepest condolences to their families, friends, and fellow airmen."
Brigadier General Keith Givens, OSI commander further remarked; "The deaths of the four OSI agents make Monday's attack the deadliest day in our command's history."
"Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season," Army Brig. Gen. William Shoffner, a spokesman for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul, said in a statement.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called the attack "a painful reminder of the dangers our troops face every day in Afghanistan" against a resurgent Taliban and the new threat from the growing presence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, in southeastern Afghanistan.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on international forces there since August. Bagram, around 40 km (25 miles) north of Kabul, is one of the main bases for the remaining 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, after international troops ended combat operations last year.
The suicide attack came just a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of the United States and NATO formally ending their combat mission in the country.