Vorderbruggen, Adrianna Maria

Major Adrianna Maria Vorderbruggen was a 36-year-old officer in the United States Air Force, assigned to the 9th Field Investigations Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. A native of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, she was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the mission that succeeded Operation Enduring Freedom.

On December 21, 2015, Major Vorderbruggen was among six U.S. service members killed in a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) attack near Bagram Airfield. The attack occurred on a patrol in the village of Bajawri, in Afghanistan's Parwan Province. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Operation Freedom's Sentinel began on January 1, 2015, marking a shift to a non-combat mission focused on training, advising, and assisting Afghan forces. Despite the declared end of major combat operations, U.S. and coalition troops continued to face hostile fire, particularly when operating outside heavily fortified bases.

Major Vorderbruggen's death was part of a single, lethal incident that represented one of the deadliest days for U.S. forces in Afghanistan that year. Her remains were returned to the United States, and she was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal.

She is remembered as the first openly gay active-duty service member to be killed in combat since the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Her spouse, Heather Lamb, and their young son survived her. Major Vorderbruggen's name is inscribed on the Afghanistan War Memorial at the Air Force Academy.

Major Vorderbruggen 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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