Moral courage personified: Geronimo NCOs set standard for peers to emulate

Photo By Chuck Cannon | Sgt. Patrick Maher, Delta Troop, 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) Geronimos, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, ran into traffic on a four-lane highway near Fort Polk, La., and secured a young child who had followed his dog into the roadway, likely saving the child's life. Seconds after removing the child from traffic, the youngsters dog was struck by a vehicle and killed.  

FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES

08.14.2020

Story by Chuck Cannon 

Fort Johnson Public Affairs Office

FORT POLK, La. — They are often unceremoniously referred to as “the most hated unit in the Army.”
The Soldiers of the world famous 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Geronimos) have as their mission to make rotational units passing through the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk experience their worst day of combat in the rolling piney hills of JRTC rather than downrange in a foreign country.
But, as J.R.R. Tolkien writes in his Lord of the Rings trilogy, “not all that is gold glitters.”
Two of Geronimo’s finest recently bore that fact out with their actions on two different occasions.
Staff Sgt. Troy Bradford, Baker Company, 1st Bn, 509th Inf Reg (Abn), was at Fort Benning, Georgia, to attend the Army’s Advanced Leader Course. His second day there, Bradford tested positive for COVID-19. He was removed from the course for medical purposes and placed in a positive isolation quarantine camp for 14 days.
For his first few days in the camp, Bradford said he sat back and watched the goings on around him, taking notes on ways the living conditions could be improved.
“When you arrive at the camp, you carry all of your belongings to the CQ (charge of quarters) desk, and then you are sent to the laundry room to be counseled and given the times you have to check in daily,” he said.
Soldiers in the camp, mostly consisting of basic or advanced individual training trainees, had vital signs and accountability checked four times a day: 5 a.m., 8 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Bradford said.
Next for Bradford was a room assignment.
“It was dirty,” he said. “Because of COVID-19 consideration, the staff was not able to check the rooms to see if they were clean when Soldiers left. If the departing Soldier trashes the room when they leave, the next Soldier has a trashed room.”
Bradford said he scrounged a few cleaning supplies to make his room livable. He said he then began taking notes on the conditions of the camp.
“The first thing I noticed was the food,” he said. “Breakfast was supposed to be at 8 a.m., but often didn’t arrive until after 9 a.m. Lunch would come anywhere from 1-2 p.m., and dinner at 4:30 p.m.”
Bradford said portions were small and lacked items such as fruits, condiments or salads.
“I started making suggestions to the cadre, such as could we start getting more nutritious food,” he said. “Could we get more vegetables and fruit? They said they would try.”
The food selection, lack of cleaning supplies and living conditions led Bradford to compose an email and send it to the post commander, post command sergeant major and garrison commander.
“A lot of things started changing then,” he said. “I waited until I had plenty of things to ask about before sending the email.”
As if that wasn’t enough to test Bradford’s moral courage, he was also faced with a dilemma that could have cost the life of another Soldier.
Bradford said the CQ cadre called and told him a young Soldier had passed out in his room. Bradford said he responded and found the Soldier unresponsive, not breathing and with a weak pulse.
“I immediately began a sternum rub and first aid,” he said. “I picked him up and carried him down the stairs because I had no medical supplies. I took him to where the cadre was.”
Bradford said when he arrived near the CQ desk, he could not find assistance. He said he was told they were not allowed to come in, that he should carry the Soldier to the gate where EMT personnel could pick him up.
“I put him on my shoulders, carried him to the gate, continued the sternum rub until EMS finally showed up showed up and hauled him off,” he said. “That’s what really drove me to write the email,” he said. “They put me in touch with Colonel Wylie, and we sent emails back and forth about what was going on in the camp.”
Col. Ryan B. Wylie is the commander of 198th Infantry Brigade One Station Training Unit, and commands the isolation camp.
Wylie wrote Bradford’s battalion commander, Lt. Col. John H. Moltz, and Command Sgt. Maj. Vladimir A. Querales about their Soldier’s “moral courage.”
“Staff Sergeant Bradford, on his own, stepped up to assume a key leadership position in the camp during his two-week stay,” Wylie wrote. “At one point, recognizing there were things in the camp that needed to change for the benefit of the Soldiers he was responsible for, Staff Sergeant Bradford had the moral courage to speak up and alert senior leaders, including myself.”
Wylie said because of Bradford’s input and suggestions, important changes were made in how the camp operates. He also thanked Bradford for his quick response in helping a fellow Soldier in duress.
“Bottom line, I am impressed with this NCO,” Wylie said. “He has represented your battalion and JRTC extremely well.”
Bradford said he just did what any noncommissioned officer should do.
“That’s the definition of being a leader: You always put someone else’s needs before your own,” he said. “It states that in the NCO Creed. For me, I wanted to see real change for these Soldiers; that’s why I sent it up so high.”
Bradford said moral courage is not something you learn, you either have it or you don’t.
“There are a lot of NCOs in this company that would put other’s needs before their own,” he said. “Without leaders who have moral courage the Army will grow stagnant and Soldiers will not want to do their jobs.”
Moral courage is important; combine it with physical courage and you find Geronimos are indeed a rare breed. Sgt. Patrick Maher, Delta Troop, 1st Bn, 509th Inf Reg (Abn), was headed to Alexandria on La. Hwy 28 when he saw a dog run in front of his vehicle.
“I slowed down, and then right behind the dog, I saw a little kid run out into the road,” Maher said. “I immediately pulled over to the median, jumped out of my car, ran into the road and grabbed the kid, then took the kid to the median.”
Maher said about 10 seconds after he had moved the child out of the road, a passing vehicle plowed into the dog, killing it.
Another motorist, Retired Navy (Capt.) Donald J. Stafford, also stopped and was with Maher when the dog was struck. Maher said Stafford called the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Maher said he did his best to comfort the youngster, whom her estimated to be about 3 years old. Maher said he asked the tot where he lived, and the child pointed down a long, tree covered path that eventually led them to a trailer.
Maher said he left the child with Stafford, then walked up to the trailer’s door.
“The door was wide open, so I went up to it, knocked several times and identified myself, but no one answered,” he said. “I didn’t want to walk in because I might have gotten shot.”
Maher said he went back to Stafford and they waited for the deputy sheriff to arrive. Once the deputy was on the scene, he entered the trailer and found the child’s parents sleeping.
Maher said he held on to the child while the deputy talked with the child’s parents. He said he saw nothing special about his actions in removing the child from the four-lane highway.
“I think it’s something that anyone with half a brain would do,” he said. “God allowed me to be there at that time to save that child. I just did what I did.”
Maher said his military training came in handy when he was faced with the prospect of the child being in danger.
“I didn’t hesitate, and once I made a decision, I stuck with it,” he said. “I just did what I thought was the right thing.”
Stafford, who wrote to Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, commander, JRTC and Fort Polk, said he was impressed with Maher’s quick thinking and actions.
“The police initially got no response when they knocked on the door, and drew their weapons in preparation for a tactical entry,” Stafford wrote.
“Sergeant Maher instinctively moved the child to a nearby spot providing cover and concealment.”
Stafford said he could tell the police officer was “visibly upset” seeing the speeding highway traffic and deceased dog, realizing the child could have easily been killed if not for Maher’s quick actions.
“Sir, Sergeant Maher’s actions in these difficult circumstances were the visible embodiment of Army Core Values,” he wrote. “It was a privilege meeting him.”
For Moltz, it was nice to hear from others what he said he’s known all along — Geronimos lead the way.
“Every day in Geronimo and across Fort Polk, there are NCOs who are setting the example for others to follow,” Moltz said. “It means a lot when other units and retirees remind us that we are surrounded by greatness. The NCOs and Soldiers of Fort Polk are what make this a great place to live and work.”

• Date Taken: 08.14.2020
• Date Posted: 08.17.2020 09:03
• Story ID: 376128
• Location: FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US