Three soldiers with the Arkansas Army National Guard created tourniquets out of belts to save a fellow guardsman’s life after two heavy expanded mobility tactical trucks collided during training.
Three tactical trucks were part of a convoy at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center, Arkansas, on Monday. The first two trucks came to a stop, but the third was unable to and collided with the middle truck, the Arkansas National Guard said in a release.
Eight soldiers were injured, one seriously. First responders used the jaws of life to remove the seriously injured guardsman.
Sgt. Eduardo Salazar, Staff Sgt. Ryan Niblett and Staff Sgt. Jorge Ramirez made the tourniquets that “preserved a soldier’s life” until local emergency services arrived, the National Guard said.
The injured soldier was airlifted to a hospital in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and then transported to Springfield, Missouri. The National Guard did not provide an update about the soldier’s condition as of Friday.
Salazar, Niblett and Ramirez were awarded Meritorious Service Medals for their actions, as was Staff Sgt. James Roach, a flight paramedic who monitored the seriously injured soldier during the airlift.
Six of the other injured soldiers were treated at a hospital in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Another, suspected of having a concussion, was airlifted by the 77th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade in a UH-72 Lakota to the same hospital. The Lakota crew was in the area for training and responded after learning of the accident.
The seven soldiers returned to duty as of Thursday, the National Guard said.
The accident triggered a brigade-wide safety stand down about hazard prevention and safety procedures. An investigation into the accident is underway.
Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She’s reported on veterans and military communities for nearly a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.