On the morning of 19 JUN 2009, my team was tasked with an escort mission for newly graduated classes of Afghan National Army Soldiers and Afghan National Police Officers from Kandahar Air Field, Kandahar, Afghanistan to two Combat Posts located in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. I was tasked with Convoy Support Coverage as the fourth vehicle of the convoy. My team consisted of a driver (myself), a Truck Commander (my best friend SSG Josh Melton), and a Gunner (my good friend SGT Paul Smith). At approximately 1025 hours local Afghanistan time, my vehicle was struck with a command detonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The device was constructed with Homemade Explosives (HME) with an approximate amount of 700-800 lbs of explosives.
The explosion instantly knocked me unconscious while throwing my vehicle 30 to 40 ft into the air flipping it over causing it to land upside down on the roadway median. Once extracted from the vehicle I was MEDEVACed to Kandahar Air Field, wheeled into the Emergency Room and evaluated. My injuries were extensive and serious. I had a Traumatic Brain Injury, collapsed lung, internal bleeding, compression fractures to Lumbar Spines L1, L2, L3, and L5, a burst fracture of Lumbar Spine L4 and severe nerve damage to my right leg. I was eventually told that I was the lone survivor of the IED blast incident.
We honor you, Dennis Alexander Pracht.
