Roland, Matthew David

Captain Matthew David Roland was a Special Tactics Officer in the United States Air Force. A 2010 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, part of Air Force Special Operations Command based at Hurlburt Field, Florida. His role involved integrating air and ground combat operations.

On August 26, 2015, Roland was killed by small arms fire in a reported insider attack at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. According to the Department of Defense, the incident occurred when an individual in an Afghan military uniform opened fire on a coalition convoy. Another U.S. service member, Staff Sergeant Forrest B. Sibley, was also killed in the attack.

Roland's death occurred during Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the U.S.-led NATO mission that succeeded the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on January 1, 2015. The operation's stated objectives were to train, advise, and assist Afghan security forces and to conduct counterterrorism missions against remnants of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

The Pentagon confirmed the deaths of Roland and Sibley in a press release. Roland was posthumously promoted from First Lieutenant to Captain. He was survived by his parents and a sister.

Captain Roland was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. In 2016, the Air Force dedicated a Special Tactics training facility at Hurlburt Field in his honor, recognizing his service and the standards he embodied.

Matthew David Roland was killed during Operation Freedom's Sentinel (ongoing since 2015). See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Golden, Jonathan Joseph, Sanchez, Maria Victoria, Dawson, John Michael, Ruiz, Pablo Allende Iii.

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