Illinois Guard Medics Aid Injured Motorcyclist During Northern Strike

CAMP GRAYLING, Mich. - Four Illinois Army National Guard medics showed what it means to be "Always Ready, Always There" when they assisted an injured motorcyclist Aug. 10 while conducting annual training in support of the Northern Strike exercise at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center.

"It was clear that they knew what they were doing," said Sgt. Matt Swope of the Crawford County Sheriff's Office, one of the first responders at the scene. "By the time the paramedics arrived and took over, the Soldiers had stabilized the motorcyclist."

Illinois Army National Guard Sgt. Summer Flores of the North Riverside, Illinois-based 708th Medical Company (Ground Ambulance) said she and three other medics - Spc. Joel Ocon, Spc. Melissa Gomez and Spc. Simon Rupniewski - were returning from a training mission at Camp Grayling when they came upon a "big chunk of metal on the highway."

Swope said an older adult was driving a three-wheeled motorcycle westbound on U.S. 72 near Lake Margrethe when one of the rear wheels gave way, throwing him from the motorcycle. He said the medics and a civilian doctor happened to be driving by and immediately began assisting the unconscious man during the critical minutes before first responders arrived.

Flores said she and her Soldiers, working as a team with the doctor, secured the unconscious man on a spine board, applied a pelvic binder, treated a head laceration and helped paramedics move him onto a stretcher when they arrived.

The man is now alive and conscious, Swope said. "Those Soldiers were a great help," he said.

"I am so proud of our Soldiers," said Maj. Gen. Rodney Boyd, the adjutant general of Illinois and commander of the Illinois National Guard. "They received the proper training, and they exercised that training to the point that it became second nature to them. When this real-life emergency happened, they were confident enough to go do their job."