Staff Sgt. Rusty Hunter Christian
Born: November 15, 1985
Died: January 28, 2010 in Oruzgan, Afghanistan
Staff Sgt. Rusty Christian, of Greeneville, Tennessee was a 2004 graduate of Greeneville High School. He enlisted in the United States Army soon after graduation. He enlisted in the United States Army Febuary 4, 2004. Upon completion of basic training and advanced individual training, he was assigned to 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis as an infantryman. In 2008, Rusty volunteered for the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and completed the Special Forces Qualification Course in August 2009. His military education also includes the U.S. Army Airborne School, Advanced Leaders Course, Warrior Leaders Course, Combat Life Savers Course, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, Defense Language Institute Indonesian Course and the Special Forces Qualification Course. His Awards and Decorations include two Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with one campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 2 device, Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Valorous Unit Award and the Meritorious Unit Citation, Parachutist Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge and the Special Forces tab. Rusty had previously served in Iraq and was currently serving his first deployment in Afghanistan where he had been since the beginning of January 2010. He died at age 24 in Afghanistan from wounds suffered in an improvised explosive device blast. He is survived by his wife, Amber, and two children. He is also survived by his mother Donna Ball and stepfather Jim Ball, his father, Michael Christian, and his brother Aaron. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one campaign star and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Army
2nd Battalion
1st Special Forces Group
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia - Sec 60 Site 9050