WEST FORT HOOD — Chief Warrant Officer-3 William Jarrett was on his way to a remote forward operating base in Afghanistan on July 5 to do a job with which few are familiar.

He was a member of the U.S. Army Operational Test Command's Forward Operational Assessment Team XVI. That means he was in Afghanistan to evaluate Army equipment or systems in use by soldiers so the command could report back to top leaders about what does or doesn't work or what can be improved.

"The testing we do ensures that our soldiers have the proper tools to do their jobs," Jarrett said.

He was on his way to evaluate sights on machine guns that soldiers of the 10^th Mountain Division's 1st Battalion, 32^nd Infantry Regiment, were using when his Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

The vehicle caught fire and during Jarrett's effort to escape, he broke both bones in his lower left leg.

The battalion did an amazing job taking care of him and getting him to safety, he said. He was medevaced to Kandahar and received his final surgery at Fort Bliss — five hours east of his home station of Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

Jarrett and his wife, Jennifer, traveled to Fort Hood on Wednesday morning to meet up with other members of Team XVI as they were awarded and honored for their recent deployment. Jarrett was the only one to receive a Purple Heart.

The group, which included four civilians, had members in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, and they conducted assessments on 20 Army systems, said Col. Laura Richardson, who leads the command.

Wednesday was the first time Jarrett saw his peers since early July. He walked with the help of crutches, and Jennifer looked at them disapprovingly and said her husband was supposed to be using a wheelchair. Jarrett is eager to recover, though, and doctors told him he would be able to walk and run in 28 weeks.

It's not common that evaluation deployments put testers in danger, but as Jarrett said: "Things happen." One thing did catch him by surprise, though.

"I thought I'd be crunching more numbers than going out as often as we did," he said.

He said he was lucky he was only injured as it "could've been so much worse," Jarrett said.

Forward Operational Assessment Team XVI members honored Wednesday:

Col. Roderick Burke: Bronze Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal
Lt. Col. Lisa Anderson: Bronze Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal
Chief Warrant Officer-3 William Jarrett: Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Combat Action Badge, NATO Medal
Maj. Christian Hall: Bronze Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal
Maj. Arturo Ruiz: Bronze Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal
Maj. David Dykema: Meritorious Service Medal
Maj. Steven Moon: Meritorious Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal
Maj. Marcus Grimes: Joint Commendation Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal
Capt. Edward Sauter: Joint Commendation Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal
Master Sgt. Christopher Marker: Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal
Sgt. 1^st Class Rodrick Johnson: Meritorious Service Medal
Sgt. 1^st Class Jaworski Doucette: Bronze Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal
Sgt. 1^st Class Mitchell Hasty: Joint Commendation Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Larry Bushbaker: Superior Civilian Service Award, Global War on Terrorism Medal, NATO Medal
Travis Humiston: Superior Civilian Service Award, Global War on Terrorism Medal, NATO Medal
Steven McDaniel: Superior Civilian Service Award, Global War on Terrorism Medal, NATO Medal
Fred Schmalkuche: Superior Civilian Service Award, Global War on Terrorism Medal, NATO Medal
Also receiving awards, but not present was Sgt. 1^st Class Johnnathon Gilliam.