Summer 2010 - STATES - The National Guard

Service Member Spotlight
Army Spc. Jessie HernandezCruz, a medic assigned
to the 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade,
Massachusetts Army National Guard displays some
of the equipment in her aid bag March 20, 2010.
HernandezCruz was awarded the Army Achievement
Medal for assisting a Soldier during a medical
emergency on a weekend drill.
By Army Staff Sgt. James C. Lally
HHC, 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
READING, Mass. – An Army medic received the
Army Achievement Medal for assisting a Soldier
during a medical emergency on Camp Curtis
Guild here March 20, 2010.
Army Spc. Jessie HernandezCruz, a medic
assigned to the 26th Maneuver Enhancement
4 Minuteman Summer 2010
Poised Under Pressure:
Medic Recognized for Providing
Emergency Medical Care
Brigade, Massachusetts Army National Guard,
was recognized for her efforts in stabilizing a
fellow Soldier who experienced a medical
emergency during a drill weekend.
Medics are primarily responsible for providing
emergency medical treatment, limited primary
care and health protection, and evacuation from
a point of injury or illness. On the battlefield,
they administer emergency medical treatment
to casualties. Whether or not they have any
experience is of little consequence when an
emergency arises and a fellow Soldier is counting
on them for help.
Impressed by HernandezCruz’s actions, Staff Sgt.
Melissa A. Souza, a military police operations
sergeant with the 26th, recommended her for
the award. Souza said, “I thought it was important
to recognize her because although she is a
medic and helping a Soldier in need may be
considered her duty, she’s young and this was
her first real-world medical emergency. Helping
a stranger is easy; helping someone you know
can be nerve-racking and sometimes downright
scary. She stayed calm, did what she had to do,
and maintained control of the situation in spite
of the chaos. It was very impressive to see a
19-year-old Soldier work under that kind of
pressure.”
When faced with a distressing situation like a
medical emergency, time and again people react
by calling for a first responder. Recollecting the
incident, Souza said, “A young Soldier came
running out of the latrine screaming that someone
was not OK. I remember it becoming very
chaotic. I grabbed the first medic I saw, which
was Spc. HernandezCruz, while I ran out to my
vehicle to grab my medical aid bag. She came
“I thought it was important to recognize her because although
she is a medic and helping a Soldier in need may be considered her duty,
she’s young and this was her first real-world medical emergency.
Helping a stranger is easy, helping someone you know can be nerve-racking
and sometimes downright scary. She stayed calm, did what she had to do,
and maintained control of the situation in spite of the chaos. It was very
impressive to see a 19-year-old Soldier work under that kind of pressure.”
– Staff Sgt. Melissa A. Souza, 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
to me without hesitation, and I directed her to
the male latrine. She ran in and immediately
took control of a very chaotic situation. Spc.
HernandezCruz and other medics were able to
stabilize the Soldier to be transported to a
medical facility,” said Souza.
Recognizing the magnitude of HernandezCruz’s
efforts, Souza said, “When these kinds of situations
happen, I think it is important to remember
the training we receive and be able to act with
calmness and poise in a time of chaos. As noncommissioned
officers, we are trained to stay
calm in order to keep our Soldiers calm and
make good decisions. This skill is not something
that is taught in a day; it is learned over
time. For a Soldier who graduated basic training
and advanced individual training only a year ago,
it was impressive to see this young Soldier act
as if she has been doing this her entire life. She
will make a great noncommissioned officer, and
it was my pleasure to recommend her for the
Army Achievement Medal,” said Souza.
When the incident happened, HernandezCruz
was on a break between briefings during her
unit’s February drill. When the routine training
event was disrupted by a call for help,
HernandezCruz assessed the situation calmly
before reacting. She recalled, “I heard someone
call for a medic, and I looked around to see if
anyone was responding because I was unsure
whether it was an actual emergency. Then whoever
it was said that it was not fake and that it
was a real-life emergency,” said HernandezCruz.
Like many other medics, HernandezCruz was
modest about taking credit for what she viewed
as just doing her job; however, she was apparently
moved enough to set out on a path that
may have changed the course of her own life.
Discussing the event and her plans for the
future, HernandezCruz said, “I’m proud of myself
even though I feel like I shouldn’t be rewarded
because I’m a medic, but I’m happy about it. It
was the first time I had to respond to something
like this and it made me more confident in my
abilities. I know what I want to do now; I want
to study medicine as a civilian career.”
By reacting quickly to conduct her mission,
Spc. HernandezCruz lived up to the tradition of
the 26th “Yankee Division,” a tradition reflected
in her unit’s motto by always being “Ready
to move!” ✯