FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 2, 2014) -- On Oct. 5, 2013, Rangers from B
Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, were a month in to their
18th battalion deployment, since 2001, to Afghanistan.
Their mission was to conduct a helicopter infiltration to capture or kill a known Taliban high profile attack coordinator.
Serving as the platoon medic for more than two years, Cpl. Bryan
Anderson had conducted numerous operations with the men he called his
brothers.
Upon reaching the location of the enemy compound, a suicide vest was
initiated. Anderson, around 300 meters away from the objective due to
the enemy retreating, heard an explosion and the call on the radio.
"Hey! We need doc!"
Anderson joined the Army in 2010, on a Ranger contract to serve as a
medic. After going to college in Arizona to study emergency response
operations, he felt it was the path he was chosen for.
Always wanting to be a firefighter, Anderson said of being a platoon
medic, "I know I will never have a better job than the one I have right
now, being a platoon medic with the other Rangers I serve with."
After joining the 1st Platoon, he deployed to Afghanistan for the first
time in 2012. Having a few eventful missions with his platoon, Anderson
knew what was expected of him.
"The whole time I've been in [the Ranger] regiment, I've taken my job
very seriously," he said. "Sometimes you are the only medical provider
on the ground, and when something bad does happen, all of a sudden you
become the leader and everybody looks to you for what to do next. I
wanted to be that calm voice in the middle of all the chaos on what the
next step needed to be."
During his second deployment, not more than a month on ground, Anderson
had to be that "calm voice" when the mission turned chaotic.
Anderson arrived at the first casualty and began his assessment by
checking the treatments that had already been applied through the first
responder care. The casualty had an effective tourniquet in place, his
airway was intact, and he reported no difficulty breathing. He moved to
the chest, finding a penetrating chest wound to the casualties left
side. Applying an occlusive dressing, Anderson checked for effectiveness
and continued his assessment.
No more than a few minutes into his assessment, a pressure plate
improvised explosive device, known as an IED, detonated a few meters
from Anderson's position, which created another casualty. Upon
completion of the first casualty's assessment, Anderson grabbed a fellow
Ranger to stay with him and moved through an active IED field to treat
the second casualty.
As he approached the second casualty, he noticed the multiple blast
injuries on the entire left side of the body. He assessed a left leg
amputation, left arm amputation at the elbow, abdominal evisceration,
and various other injuries. After treating the wounds, Anderson
instructed another Ranger to assist in the treatment.
Though the casualty was unresponsive, Anderson made every attempt to help.
His last measure was to make a vertical incision in the throat and
insert a definitive airway. It was then that the casualty took his last
two breaths before showing no signs of life.
Just then, a third IED detonated 10 meters from Anderson's location,
resulting in a third casualty. He moved to the location and immediately
noticed bilateral leg amputations. Having run out of tourniquets,
Anderson applied manual pressure to the femoral arteries.
Then, an Air Force para-rescue jumper arrived to assist with the
application of the tourniquets. Shortly thereafter, the patient lost
consciousness and went into respiratory distress. The para-rescue jumper
began the vertical incision and Anderson assisted by preparing his
equipment for the cricothyroidotomy. Then another IED was detonated five
meters from their location, throwing Anderson and the para-rescue
jumper from the casualty. After regaining consciousness, Anderson
consulted with the para-rescue jumper to ensure he could finish the
procedure and moved to the fourth casualty.
Anderson arrived at the fourth casualty, who had also sustained
bilateral leg amputations. Again, he applied manual pressure to the
femoral arteries with both knees while waiting for additional
tourniquets. He reached for one off of the casualty's equipment and
yelled to a fellow Ranger for another. After the tourniquets were
applied, Anderson assessed the remaining injuries to the casualty and
began prepping him for evacuation. An aid and litter team arrived, and
with his instruction, loaded the casualty onto the litter. Anderson then
accounted for the two urgent casualties, relocated the para-rescue
jumper to the first casualty, and moved to his element to the landing
zone.
When the aircraft had loaded the casualties, Anderson conducted a
casualty handover with the flight surgeon onboard. He continued treating
en route to the combat support hospital on the fourth casualty.
Anderson praised the other Rangers and others on ground for their quick responses to help treat others.
"We couldn't have done any of this without the platoon being so good at
RFR (Ranger First Responder)," he said. "They were all doing an amazing
job at treating on what they knew how to treat, before a medic made it
over there."
In summary, Anderson ran throughout the objective area to four different
patients without the area being cleared by explosive ordnance disposal
technicians to treat his fellow Rangers.
"To be honest, not once until I was moving to Josh (Hargis) was I was
thinking I should be careful moving around here," he said. "I think they
do a fantastic job training us, but they never train us to hold back.
So when you see your buddy hurt, and there is no enemy to fight, your
immediate reaction is to run to your buddy."
According to his nomination for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command
Medic of the Year, "His utter disregard for his own safety in order to
treat patients was astounding, and his efforts to deftly perform
intricate and complicated medical procedures with minimal equipment was
incredible. Specialist Anderson directly contributed to saving two
Ranger's lives, including that of a double amputee, whom Specialist
Anderson kept alive for almost two hours until the casualty evacuation
helicopter could land, refusing to leave a fallen comrade despite his
own life being in extreme danger."
By Sgt. 1st Class Michael R. Noggle
http://www.army.mil/article/129228/Ranger_named_Special_Operations_Medic_of_the_Year/
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