Derek J. Farley

Derek J. Farley, a 2004 graduate of Columbia High School, fulfilled a longtime ambition and enlisted in the army following his graduation. SSG Farley was assigned to basic training at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina and EOD School at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He was assigned to the 756th Ordnance Company (EOD) at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, and then deployed to Camp Taji, Iraq in July 2006, serving as an EOD team member until May 2007. While in Iraq, SSG Farley received the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during an IED explosion. He was then assigned to the 702nd Ordnance Company (EOD) Grafenwoehr, Germany in February 2008, where he became EOD Team Leader. While at the 702nd EOD Company, SSG Farley completed numerous VIP missions, range clearance and UXO calls in Grafenwoehr Training Area.

SSG Farley was deployed to western Afghanistan on September 15, 2009 to support Coalition Forces against explosive hazards. He worked diligently with his Army team to ensure freedom of movement along crucial routes, worked with local national forces to recover caches, and shared his knowledge with friendly forces about enemy tactics, technique and procedures. Staff Sergeant Derek J. Farley was killed on August 17, 2010 while disarming a bomb, two weeks before he was scheduled to return home.

Staff Sergeant Farley was passionate about being an EOD technician. He always placed his team’s welfare, Coalition Forces, and the local population before himself, and was a devoted friend and an exceptional mentor. Derek will be forever missed by his parents, Kenneth and Carrie, his brother, Dylan, sisters, Colleen, Theresa and Julie, and his girlfriend Maria.