On March 11, 2013, then USAF TSgt. Delorean Sheridan, a combat controller, was preparing for a mission with US Army and Afghan Special Forces teammates in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, when he saw puffs of smoke and heard gunfire. Turning toward the noise, Sheridan saw an Afghan National Police officer shooting at him and his team, instantly killing his teammate.
An “insider attack” was taking place. Around the same time, fifteen to twenty enemy soldiers outside the compound engaged the team with heavy machine gun fire. Without regard to his own life, Sheridan engaged and killed the shooter with his pistol and M-4 rifle.
Sergeant Sheridan then set up a casualty collection point. He ran under fire three times to retrieve dead and wounded teammates. Next, he coordinated medical evacuation and directed close air support against the insurgents outside the compound. Within thirty minutes, Sheridan had stopped the enemy attack and was credited with saving twenty-three critically wounded personnel, earning him the Silver Star.
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