Staff Sgt. Albietz’s job often sounds more like the script from an episode of 24 than the everyday occurrence that it is: Rush into enemy territory, oftentimes under fire, locate bombs, and defuse them before they can go off and harm troops or civilians.Albietz was the leader of an explosives team at Kirkuk Regional Air Base in Iraq, and was tasked with locating and disarming or destroying homemade bombs throughout a 42,000-square-kilometer area. As a result, Albietz was often caught in dangerous situations, with insurgent attacks always looming. In total, he was involved in more than 110 combat missions.In one such mission, Albietz and his team were called in to disarm a bomb that was blocking a logistical convoy trying to pass through the area. As the enemy fired from multiple locations, Albietz’s team successfully disabled the bomb. In a different mission, his team was sent to the city of Sulayman Bak to look for four pressure-switch-activated bombs that were hidden within a six-block area. Insurgents were trying to blow up Iraqi security and government buildings, but Albietz and his team of experts located each explosive and defused them before any harm could be done.During his time in Iraq, Albietz contributed to the recovery and destruction of more than 40,000 explosives, most of which were roadside bombs of the type that have inflicted numerous casualties on Coalition forces.For his work and leadership, Albietz received the Bronze Star on March 2, 2007.
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