Patrolmen lauded for life-saving response

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Brian S. Orban
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho (AFPN) --  A base Airman who attempted suicide is alive today because of the fast reaction of four patrolmen from the 366th Security Forces Squadron here.

This month, 366th Fighter Wing officials showed its gratitude by selecting Tech. Sgt. Rich Richardson, Tech. Sgt. Galen Dickerson, Staff Sgt. Tom French and Senior Airman Renee Hvizdak to receive Air Force Achievement Medals.

Sergeant Dickerson and his fellow patrolmen paused to reflect on what happened Oct. 26. According to police reports, the Airman left his workcenter saying he was going to lunch. Instead, he headed to a secluded park in the base housing area. There he deliberately hurt himself.

The Airman apparently changed his mind and used his cell phone to call for help, Sergeant Dickerson said.

"He called his workcenter and told his workcenter that he hurt himself and needed some help," the sergeant said. "The workcenter then called the (law enforcement) control center."

In moments, Sergeant Richardson was on scene followed immediately by Sergeant Dickerson. Together, they raced to the bench where the Airman lay unconscious.
"It was a very strange day ... right before Halloween," Sergeant Dickerson said. "Both Sergeant Richardson and I remarked that we didn't know if this was an exercise or a prank because it just didn't seem real."

But the sudden realism of what they saw prompted both men to spring into action. They started first aid to isolate the source of the bleeding and applied direct pressure on the wounds to prevent further blood loss.

"We tried to revive him to see if he would respond to his name and make sure he was still with us," Sergeant Dickerson said. "He was somewhat responsive, but not very much. You could tell he was pretty bad off."

Airman Hvizdak arrived roughly two minutes later. She pulled a roll of gauze out of a first-aid kit, bandaged the victim's left wrist and started to apply direct pressure to prevent further blood loss. Meanwhile, Sergeant Dickerson concentrated on stopping the bleeding on the other wrist.

As Sergeant French approached the scene moment's later, he saw the ambulance taking a wrong turn and was going the wrong way. Still in his patrol car, the sergeant chased down the misdirected ambulance and escorted the crew to the scene. Not knowing the type of incident the patrolmen were dealing with, Sergeant French then began collecting possible evidence at the scene to help investigators piece together what happened that afternoon.

The events of Oct. 26 happened within a span of roughly 10 minutes, according to Sergeant Dickerson. Thinking back, the patrolmen credited Air Force first-aid training for their ability to stabilize the Airman long enough for paramedics to arrive.

"Your training kind of kicks in ... you see it enough when you go through the annual training and deployments," Sergeant Dickerson said. "It gets reiterated time and time again. You just sort of snap into motion after that."

"After going through the classroom (first-aid training) and going to the desert, everything just takes control," Airman Hvizdak said. "You're going to help this person. You don't think about it. You just start doing what you need to do."

Quick thinking by these patrolmen proved invaluable since the Airman had only minutes of life left in him before they arrived, said Col. Thomas Laffey, 366th Mission Support Group commander. On Thanksgiving Day, the colonel presented the achievement medals to Sergeant Dickerson, Sergeant French and Airman Hvizdak during a ceremony at the squadron headquarters. Sergeant Richardson, currently attending school at another base, will receive his medal in coming weeks.

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