Daniel Keighran

Dan Keighran joined the Australian Army on 5 December 2000. After completing recruit and initial employment training, he was posted to 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR).

While serving with 6RAR, Dan deployed to Rifle Company Butterworth, Malaysia, in 2001 and 2004; Timor-Leste (East Timor) in 2003-04; Iraq in 2006; and Afghanistan in 2007 and 2010.

On 24 August 2010, during his second Afghanistan deployment, Dan was part of an Afghan and Australian fighting patrol engaged by a numerically superior and coordinated enemy force near the village of Derapet in the Uruzgan province of Afghanistan. For his actions on this day, Dan was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia.

During a 3.5 hour engagement, Dan repeatedly exposed himself to heavy enemy fire to help in target identification and the treatment and clearance of one of his wounded comrades. He recalled assessing the risk before undertaking his action and says, “I don’t think what I did was really brave. It was what was required at the time”.

Dan attained the rank of corporal and remains an active member of the Army Reserve.

Victoria Cross citation

For the most conspicuous acts of gallantry and extreme devotion to duty in action in circumstances of great peril at Derapet, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan as part of the Mentoring Task Force One on Operation SLIPPER. On 24 August 2010 Corporal Keighran of the 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, was a member of a partnered fighting patrol with soldiers of the Afghan National Army’s 1st Kandak, 4th Brigade, 205th (Hero) Corps which was engaged by a prolonged, numerically superior and coordinated enemy attack from multiple firing points. Corporal Keighran, with complete disregard for his own safety, broke cover on multiple occasions to draw intense and accurate enemy fire to identify enemy locations and direct return fire from Australian and Afghan fire support elements. During one of these occasions, when his patrol sustained a casualty, he again, on his own initiative and in an act of exceptional courage moved from his position of cover to deliberately draw fire away from the team who were treating the casualty. Corporal Keighran remained exposed and under heavy fire in order to direct suppressing fire and then assist in the clearance of the landing zone to enable evacuation of the casualty. These deliberate acts of exceptional courage to repeatedly expose himself to accurate and intense enemy fire, thereby placing himself in grave danger, ultimately enabled the identification and suppression of enemy firing positions. In circumstances of great peril Corporal Keighran’s actions were instrumental in permitting the withdrawal of the combined Australian and Afghan patrol with no further casualties.

[Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, Number GN 44, 7 November 2012, Special Appendix, page 2, accessed 8 Sep 2025, Federal Register of Legislation, https://www.legislation.gov.au/gazettes/historic/2012.]