A staff sergeant attending Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base is being investigated for allegedly claiming he received the Purple Heart. His commissioning is now on hold, according to the Air Force.
Staff Sgt. Justin Druskis was selected to attend OTS last October, as part of the 14OT03 selection board, and he is an officer trainee at Maxwell, slated to become a combat systems officer. But on Oct. 2, the Stolen Valor Facebook page posted a picture of Druskis and images of an apparent Facebook conversation between Druskis and Army National Guardsman and former Marine John Irwin Jr.
In the series of messages, sent between Sept. 27 and 29, Druskis told Irwin he hasn't worn his Purple Heart ribbon because he wanted to "keep anything with my injuries on the extreme down low bro." Irwin offered several times to reach out to the command at Maxwell to get them to allow Druskis to wear his Purple Heart ribbon at OTS graduation. Druskis pleaded with Irwin several times not to make that request.
On Sept. 29, Druskis wrote to Irwin and another former airman and said, "So I understand there are something's [sic] I need to talk to both of you about. I also have some explaining to do and some apologies to make. I have made mistakes in my life and I love you guys dearly."
Irwin responded, "I knew you were lying from the get go. I just wanted to see how far you would take it."
Phil Berube, a spokesman for the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell, confirmed that OTS officials were aware of allegations regarding Druskis' Purple Heart claims, and said his "commissioning is on hold pending further investigation." Berube said he could not offer any further comment.
The Air Force Personnel Center said it has no record of Druskis receiving the Purple Heart, or any other decorations. But AFPC said it often takes some time for decorations to appear in someone's file there, and cautioned against drawing any conclusions from the lack of decoration records in its files.
Druskis entered military service in August 2006, AFPC said.
Attempts to reach Druskis were unsuccessful.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
