Ashley Spurlin
Ashley Spurlin is a U.S. Air Force combat controller and Bronze Star recipient who competed on season 2 of History Channel's Top Shot (2011).
Sourcing: strong 3 reference · 1 government · 1 social
Ashley Spurlin is a United States Air Force combat controller who became publicly known as a contestant on the second season of the History Channel marksmanship competition Top Shot, broadcast in 2011.[1][2]
Military service
Spurlin served as a combat controller, a special-operations airman trained to direct air traffic and air strikes on the ground.[1][3] In February 2009 the public affairs office at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, reported that Staff Sgt. Spurlin, then a combat control instructor with the 334th Training Squadron, had been presented with the Bronze Star.[3]
According to the Keesler release, the award recognized his service as a joint terminal air controller with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom. From August 2007 to February 2008 he served with Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3313, which conducted capture-or-kill missions along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border and through Kunar Province. The release says he went on more than 50 combat missions and controlled close air support, including an AC-130 gunship during an operation in the Waturpor Valley. At the time he was described as a seven-year Air Force veteran who had joined Keesler's combat-control training team eight months earlier. He had previously deployed to Romania, the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia and Uzbekistan.[3]
A Top Shot fan wiki adds that he had been in Air Force special operations for ten years, that he graduated from the military free-fall (HALO) and SCUBA schools, and that he competed in the Production division of USPSA practical pistol shooting.[4]
Top Shot
Spurlin was listed on the show as a 34-year-old from Richmond, Virginia.[1] The 2009 Keesler release had said he came from "Monterrey, Calif."[3] He started on the Blue Team and later joined the Green Team.[4] He was eliminated in episode 10, "The Shakedown" (first shown April 12, 2011), after losing a pistol elimination challenge to Joe Serafini, and finished in sixth place.[1][4] In the post-season special Behind the Bullet, he was reported to be in Afghanistan.[1][4]
Image on Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons hosts a photograph titled "Ashley Spurlin.JPG". It is filed under the categories for United States Air Force Combat Control Teams, people associated with Keesler Air Force Base, and recipients of the Bronze Star Medal.[5]
See also
- Notable Spurlins · People strong
An index of notable people surnamed Spurlin, with related Spurling-surname figures listed separately as variants. - Spurlins in film and television · Culture strong
A roundup of on-screen and behind-the-scenes credits under the Spurlin name, from a 1930s Hollywood property man to present-day actors, producers and crew, mostly drawn from IMDb, plus fictional Spurlin characters found through IMDb's character search. - Fictional characters named Spurlin · Culture strong
Characters surnamed Spurlin in novels, pulp science fiction, television and film, including an explorer in a 1942 Planet Stories tale, a politician in C. J. Cherryh's Regenesis (2009), the heroine of a 1993 romance, and minor characters on British and American screens. - Spurlin on Reddit and online forums · Culture weak
Where the Spurlin name comes up in online discussion: Reddit threads about Spurlin athletes, a band director and a dog breeder, long-running genealogy message boards, and a few other platforms that were checked. - Spurlin on Wikimedia Commons · Culture strong
Freely licensed images on Wikimedia Commons that relate to the Spurlin name, including portraits of Ashley Spurlin and Mary Jane Spurlin. - Spurlins in public service · People strong
A roundup of people surnamed Spurlin (and, separately, Spurling) in government, politics, the military and the courts, from a 19th-century Indiana sheriff to a Kentucky utility commissioner and recent local candidates, with links to the individual articles. - Spurlins in sports · Culture strong
An overview of people surnamed Spurlin in sports: college and minor league baseball, college football, wrestling, softball and basketball coaching, with links to each article and a note of the professional leagues and databases searched.
References
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Top Shot season 2 — Wikipedia — contestant table, episode 10 and the Behind the Bullet epilogue Reference
- ↑ Ashley Spurlin — IMDb — "Self - Contestant", Top Shot, 2011, 12 episodes Reference
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Combat control instructor earns Bronze Star — Keesler Air Force Base — Susan Griggs, 81st Training Wing Public Affairs, Feb. 25, 2009 Government
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Ashley Spurlin — Top Shot Wiki (Fandom) — fan-edited wiki Social
- ↑ File:Ashley Spurlin.JPG — Wikimedia Commons Reference
Last reviewed 2026-09-24.