Our Story
Captain Matthew Roland
Captain Matthew D. Roland, a Special Tactics Officer assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla., was killed when two Afghan National Defense and Security Forces individuals opened fire on a convoy he was leading at a checkpoint near Camp Antonik, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Capt. Roland posthumously received the Silver Star medal for heroically giving his last full measure to save the lives of his teammates. Seconds before the attack, he recognized the imminent threat and gave his convoy enough time to react to the insider attack with a radio call. Simultaneously, Capt. Roland knowingly put himself in the line of fire by moving the bus to protect the vehicle occupants, giving them precious time to react and neutralize both gunmen. Capt. Roland was transporting Special Operations team members who had just arrived to the forward operating base as part of NATO’s Operation Resolute Support.
Capt. Roland was born at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. As an Air Force brat, he moved multiple times, in South Dakota, Texas, New Mexico and Kentucky.
He was an avid Cross Country runner and active Boy Scout, earning the Eagle Scout award in 2002. Graduating from high school in Lexington, KY, in 2006, he was accepted to the United States Air Force Academy class of 2010. Capt. Roland joined the Academy Sandhurst Team, competing with sister service academy teams at West Point and leading the team during his senior year as the Sandhurst Team Captain. He also served as trainer and evaluator for Army Programs while at the Academy. Capt. Roland graduated in the class of 2010 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Upon graduation, he entered the rigorous Special Tactics Officer training pipeline, earning the Red Beret in June 2012.
He was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron as the Team Leader directing employment of Special Tactics Airmen to integrate, synchronize, control air and space power. Capt. Roland led real-world tasking and combat preparedness training for a 35-member team. As a Special Tactics Officer, he was a qualified battlefield commander prepared to lead reconnaissance, strike and recovery missions. He was a military static-line jumper, free fall jumper, an Air Force combat scuba diver, and a joint terminal attack controller. He deployed three times, twice to Afghanistan and once to Africa. In Africa, he ensured global access to remote locations, leading a joint team into a clandestine desert landing strip via free fall parachutist insertion. In Afghanistan, Capt. Roland served as a JTAC attached to a U.S. Army Special Forces Team, controlling air and ground strikes from the ground. There, he fought alongside one of Afghanistan’s premier Commando units to disrupt enemy safe havens within the volatile Helmand and Kandahar Provinces. He also served as the Air Space Coordinator and Weapons Release Authority at the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan Fires Cell. He was the sole JTAC assigned to the general officer level operations center, enabling the joint strike capability and air/ground integration in Afghanistan.
Capt. Roland’s decorations include the Silver Star medal, the Bronze Star medal, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border.
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Honoring the life and service of Capt. Matthew Roland
