Special Agent Jac Christiansen, OSI 

Special Agent Jac Christiansen served as the lead investigator on 158 Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (IED) missions. His efforts have proved vital to commanders’ efforts to mitigate IED threats and provide better force protection for their personnel.

On April 20, 2007, while returning from a mission in Fallujah, Iraq, his vehicle struck an IED. The driver was hit by shrapnel in the legs, the gunner was knocked unconscious, and Agent Christiansen suffered a concussion. Despite his injuries and the continuous enemy attack, he provided first aid to the injured until he and his team were evacuated. Without regard for his injuries, he continued to take missions every day to identify, neutralize and destroy IEDs and weapons caches throughout the Anbar Province.

On July 26, 2007, his armored vehicle was hit again and severely damaged by a very large “high-yield” IED. Agent Christiansen was briefly knocked unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness, he first thought of his fellow Airmen; “I just wanted to know and make sure the rest of the team was okay.”

Despite injuries from five separate IED attacks during his time in Iraq, Agent Christiansen’s work ultimately led to the identification of 20 insurgents building IEDs intended to target Coalition forces. Agent Christiansen was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Medal.