By Elizabeth Glenn, U.S. Army Contracting Command

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – An Army Contracting Command-Rock Island Soldier was honored with a Purple Heart Medal during a ceremony held March 13 at the Rock Island Arsenal Museum, Illinois.

Master Sgt. Anthony Patera, an ACC-RI contracting officer supporting global missions, was presented with the medal by Maj. Gen. Stephanie Howard, director, Defense Logistics Agency Joint Reserve Force, during the standing room only ceremony.

Patera, who enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 2006, began his career as an infantryman and was first assigned to the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), where he served as a casket bearer at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. While at The Old Guard, he earned the Expert Infantryman’s Badge and deployed to the Horn of Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In 2009, Patera was assigned to the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, and deployed to Wardak Province, Afghanistan, as a squad leader from 2011 to 2012. It was during this deployment, in October 2011, when he suffered an injury while leading his team under direct fire to secure a key position, which allowed an Afghan partner sniper section to maneuver to safety without casualties.

He earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge in 2011 and received the Army Commendation Medal with Valor in 2012 for his actions, but it took nearly 15 years for the Purple Heart Medal to be pinned on his chest.

“These awards are usually given in the hospital, usually very soon after someone has been wounded in action,” Howard said. “This happened in 2011, and I didn’t know him at that time, but I would contend that Tony had the Solider mentality to suck it up and move on, so he kept moving on and it wasn’t until he redeployed at Fort Bliss that he started getting X-rays and MRIs.”

It wasn’t until June 2013 – nearly two years after his injury – that he had major reconstructive surgery on his back. To this day, Patera still deals with repercussions from that injury.

“Tony took this event to forge a new path in the Army,” Howard said. “He was stationed at Fort Bliss, and he went into recruiting to take a short step back from his MOS, as he realized it would be incredibly challenging to go back to infantry due to the injuries he sustained. The negative of this injury led him into the positive of joining the acquisition corps.”

Patera has indeed embraced his role as an Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology NCO from the beginning – he graduated as the honor graduate of his class in 2015. Since then, he has served in several acquisition and trainer roles around the world, before being assigned to ACC-RI in July 2021. Here, he has been instrumental in several field support missions and serves as the contracting lead for the $10 billion Global Protective Services Program ([https://www.army.mil/article/286466](https://www.army.mil/article/286466)).

“I appreciate you all being here today,” Patera said during his speech. “Receiving the Purple Heart is an incredible honor and it also marks a moment that changed life and a journey that has stretched across the past 15 years. The years since my injury have brought surgeries, recoveries, setbacks and more surgeries still ahead.”

In his speech, Patera thanked all his family members – who travelled from Michigan – for being present at the ceremony, as well as providing unyielding support over the years.

“I’d like to especially thank my wife, Ashley,” Patera said. “She’s been there for every surgery, every appointment, every hard day. We’ve been through so many procedures that she jokes, ‘just text me when you’re awake and I’ll come get you.’”
He also addressed his two elementary-aged sons.

“You don’t understand what this means yet, but I hope one day you look back and be proud of your dad, not for the award but for my time overseas in what you call war and the moments we’ve shared along the way. Axel promoted me to both sergeant first class and master sergeant. Those moments with you mean more to me than any ceremony ever could.”

He closed out the ceremony thanking co-workers for their support.

“This medal represents sacrifice, but it also represents the people who stood behind me when things were hardest and I’m grateful to all of you who are here today because the truth is, on that day 15 years ago, there was a real chance that I wouldn’t be standing here at all.”