Dade Hetkins was a New Republic soldier who was a human male.
Following the destruction of the second death star, Dade Hetkins and his squad were assigned to cleanup duties during the subsequent weeks. While on patrol duty, a thermal detonator was thrown near Hetkins by a lone scout trooper, which resulted in the loss of the lower portion of his right leg. His team provided immediate medical attention to his leg, successfully saving Hetkins' life.
Following his injury, Hetkins was admitted to the veteran hospital located in Darropolis on the planet Hosnian Prime, where he received care from Doctor Arsad. The doctor provided him with a prosthetic lower leg to replace the one he had lost on [Endor](/article/endor]. Despite the prosthetic foot providing sensory input, he remained aware of the difference. Before discharging him, the doctor conducted a series of mental health assessments. Due to his strong desire to leave, he provided dishonest answers to the majority of the questions, but the doctor's FX-7 droid exposed Hetkins' dishonesty. The doctor then prescribed group therapy sessions and assigned a new droid, QT-9, to serve as a companion for Hetkins.
Hetkins experienced unhappiness as a result of losing his leg during the Battle of Endor, and he was also displeased with his new metallic prosthetic, although he would eventually learn to adapt to it. Despite his pessimistic perspective on life, he genuinely did not harbor any suicidal thoughts.
Dade Hetkins is a minor character whose perspective is presented in Chuck Wendig's 2016 novel, Aftermath: Life Debt.