In the fall of 2015, a Saturday night dinner outing during 7-level paralegal school found two Airmen testing their self-aid buddy care training in the real world.
Tech. Sgt. Amanda Knotts and Tech. Sgt. Brandon Lancaster had just arrived in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, for dinner on the night of October 24. Instead of eating barbecue, they provided aid to a shooting victim.
“We were grabbing a bite to eat and all of a sudden heard a pop-pop-pop-pop around the corner,” said Lancaster, an Air National Guard paralegal at the 133rd Airlift Wing.
The two Airmen assumed it was just firecrackers, until a group of about 12 teenagers ran around the corner. One of the teenagers was bleeding from his arm but quickly disappeared into a nearby restaurant. The Airmen got back in the car. Knotts, who had been driving, looked in the rearview mirror and saw a 16-year-old girl come around the corner and drop to the sidewalk.
The paralegals responded immediately by going to her aid. Both Airmen said their Air Force training kicked in. Knotts, who is an Individual Mobilization Augmentee currently serving as the non-commissioned officer in charge of military justice at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, said the girl had been shot in the hip but was eerily quiet, like she was in shock.
After checking for an exit wound and monitoring the girl’s airways, breathing and circulation, Lancaster applied pressure to the wound. Knotts called 9-1-1 and remained on the phone until help finally arrived
Knotts said her SABC training came right back to her when it was actually needed.
“I never thought about it before, about what it would be like to have to [provide care],” she said. “It was amazing how quickly we reacted and that we knew what to do.”
While they waited for the police and medics to arrive, the two Airmen were concerned about the possibility of the shooters returning. According to the victim and a friend who was with her, a white car had pulled up and someone began firing indiscriminately into the crowd of teenagers.
Lancaster said that concern for themselves was never a primary consideration. He said they saw someone was hurt, there was no one else around and they felt it was the right thing to do.
“It is part of what we were trained for and who we are as Airmen,” he said. “Being there for people who need you.”
Fortunately, the shooters did not return and the police and ambulance arrived to provide advanced care to the shooting victims. According to later news reports, two suspects were arrested in connection with the shooting and both victims recovered from their wounds.
Lancaster said that while the shooting has made him more watchful about his surroundings, he wouldn’t change his actions if faced with the same scenario again.
“I would not have left someone over there or done anything differently.”