Self aid and buddy care training helps deployed SNCO save a life

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Ben Galloway
  • Jalalabad 2nd Army Brigade
FORWARD OPERATING BASE, Afghanistan --  What started out recently as a semi-routine humanitarian convoy mission, turned into a life saving act of heroism for one of Whiteman's deployed senior noncommissioned officers.

Senior Master Sgt. Robert Hughes, from the 509th Logistics Readiness Squadron, is currently deployed to Afghanistan as a convoy truck commander. On Dec. 18, his coalition convoy headed out into the Afghan countryside to conduct a humanitarian assistance operation when an even greater humanitarian need arose.

While traveling around the Jalalabad Bypass, Sergeant Hughes noticed a number of Afghan civilians gesturing for the convoy to halt.

"It was by sheer luck that we were even on that road," Sergeant Hughes said. "Our Afghan National Army representative suggested we take the route as a faster means of reaching our objective. We changed routes midstream which is something we would normally never do."

As the convoy commander ordered a short halt, Sergeant Hughes directed his vehicle towards the crowd in order to assess the situation. After ordering the gunner to perform a quick survey of the area for any immediate threat, Sergeant Hughes dismounted from the safety of his up-armored humvee to the side of the pavement where he noticed a severely injured Afghan male lying motionless in a culvert 30 meters from the road.

"I was asking in my best Dari 'What's up, what happened?' and the only thing I could make out was 'car'," Sergeant Hughes said.

Sergeant Hughes immediately returned to his vehicle, relayed the situation to the rest of the convoy, grabbed his Combat Life-Saver bag and with complete disregard for his own safety, moved through the crowd to aid the injured Afghan teen.

"The young teen was riding his bike when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver," Sergeant Hughes said. "It must have thrown him 50 to 60 feet."

Sergeant Hughes quickly assessed the victim's injuries and began to administer life-saving first aid treatment until the corpsman arrived on scene. For the next 20 minutes, he assisted the Navy corpsman until the injured youth was stable enough to move.

With the victim stable, Sergeant Hughes again took command of the situation as he helped place the injured teen onto a litter and into an Afghan National Army light transport vehicle.

Once the convoy started moving, Sergeant Hughes' truck took the lead clearing a safe path through heavy urban traffic to the nearest hospital -- five miles away.

Arriving at the hospital, Sergeant Hughes used his new convoy position as rear truck commander to secure the road for the dismounted litter party.

"Sergeant Hughes demonstrated what's good in all Air Force members, a natural desire to help others no matter what situation presents itself," said 1st Lt. Ben Galloway, currently deployed from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.

The final toll for the Afghan youth was a compound fracture of the right arm with the bone breaking the skin, a dislocated left elbow and fractured left hand, three fractures in his left leg, severe lacerations to the head and body that would require stitches, three missing teeth and multiple abrasions across his body.

"You spend years attending training that you hope you will never have to use," Sergeant Hughes said. "I'm just glad all those folks in the past where there to prepare me for this situation. I think it reemphasizes the fact that training is the key to mission success."