A former Bend resident earned a Bronze Star Medal in Afghanistan for “exceptionally meritorious service” that included more than 200 mounted combat patrols through hostile territory.

The first priority for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Albert Sr. upon his return next month is finding a civilian job, his wife, Angela Albert, said Friday.

Albert returns home to Boise to his wife and their 6-year-old son, Orion. Another son, David Jr., 19, is also in the Army.

The senior Albert graduated from Bend High in 1986 and served a three-year stint in the Regular Army as a chemical warfare specialist, said his father, Donald Albert, also of Boise. Afterward, he signed up with the Army Reserve and became a drill instructor with 2/414th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 95th Division at Gowen Field, Boise.

A family friend, Larry Nonemaker of Bend, owner of Larry’s RV, said Friday he recalled David as a straight-shooter, “very dedicated to the things he set his mind to.”

“He looks at things and he can reason things out very quickly,” Nonemaker said. “He’s a person that’s a very in-charge type individual.”

The Alberts lived in Bend for seven years, Donald Albert said. His son still has friends in the city, his wife said.

His wife and father said Albert was laid off several years ago from his job as salesman for Micron, a microprocessor maker in Boise; afterward, he made a living as a wedding and sports photographer before volunteering for duty in Afghanistan. Angela Albert said her husband saw active duty as a “good opportunity to make a wage for his family.”

Like many military families dealing with separation, she looks forward to a period of reconnecting after her husband’s 13-month absence.

He visited in late June and early July for a two-week mid-tour break, during which he attended his son’s boot camp graduation ceremony, his wife said.

“I told my husband, I’m a freak worry case,” Angela Butler said. “I don’t need to know everything you’re doing. Just check in once in a while so I know you’re OK.”

According to Army regulations, the Bronze Star Medal is awarded to anyone who “distinguishes himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.”

Albert, 44, serves as noncommissioned officer in charge of operations at the Sergeants Major Academy of the Afghan National Army, according to an announcement Dec. 19 by Master Sgt. Daniel Culp of the Kabul Military Training Center. Albert works with American forces that train the Afghan army. “His performance epitomized exceptional military professionalism,” Culp wrote. “He led by example.”

Albert’s patrols as truck or convoy commander, through 2,000 total miles around Kabul, exposed him and his troops to “constant threat of ambush” by roadside bombs, suicide bombers and small-arms fire. Albert also earned recognition for implementing gender-equality training in the Afghan Army and National Police.