Army Sergeant First Class Dustin Ard

Army Sergeant First Class Dustin B. Ard, 31, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was a Green Beret and Special Forces communications sergeant assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington. He was killed on August 29, 2019, after being wounded during combat operations in Afghanistan’s Zabul Province.

SFC Ard was born October 4, 1987, in Idaho Falls and moved to the Boise area at age 11. He graduated from Meridian Medical Arts Charter High School in 2006 and was remembered as an exceptionally intelligent but modest student. After completing college and a church mission, he enlisted through the Army’s 18X Special Forces candidate program in 2011. He earned his Green Beret in 2015 and served as a communications sergeant.

Former teacher Pete Kinnaman remembered Dustin as “off the charts” academically but never cocky or arrogant. His father described him as “a loving, kind, gentle soul”. Friends remembered him as humble, intelligent and devoted to his family, enjoying woodworking projects, video games and lively conversations.

Dustin was survived by his wife, daughter and an unborn son whom his wife was expecting at the time of his death.