Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Sgt's Chase Coburn, Michell Jensen and Tyler Jaden, Infantrymen assigned to...... read more read more
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CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – Sgt's Chase Coburn and Mitchell Jensen, assigned to the Sabre Squadron of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, the Korea Rotational Force, subdued an unruly passenger on flight KE024 of Korean Air on April 14, 2024.
The Infantrymen, Coburn and Jensen, were returning from the 2024 Army International Sniper Competition at Fort Moore, Georgia, during their layover from San Francisco to the Incheon airport, South Korea, when they noticed that one of the passengers was agitated and started acting strange.
Jensen first noticed the man was wearing a maintenance t-shirt from another airline. "He was walking around and checking the plane for a straight hour," he said. "The flight attendants started to talk to each other and videotape him."
The passenger insisted on going to first class, so the Soldiers intervened. "I tapped the flight attendant and asked her if she needed help," said Jensen. "We noticed the man pushed another flight attendant towards first class, so she said yes."
The flight attendants took the Soldiers to the back of the plane to be briefed on the procedures for handling the situation. When they returned to stop him, they realized the passenger was already at the front of the plane. "He was trying to open the door to get out of the airplane," said Coburn. "We struggled with the guy for a couple of minutes trying to get the restraints on, and he started saying that he wanted to die and that he could not breathe because the air was bad on the plane."
Thinking the situation was under control, the Soldiers returned to their seats. However, an hour before landing, one U.S. civilian, who had assisted the Soldiers previously, needed help re-restraining the passenger, who had broken the first set of restraints. "I intervened, but this time he was a little bit more aggressive, and he was threatening people around him," said Coburn. "Then, Sgt. Jensen assisted us, and we were able to put the restraints on the passenger once again and put him back into his seat."
When the plane landed, the authorities took control of the situation, and the Soldiers returned to Camp Casey. Days later, they received a letter from the Information Protection and Security Department of Korean Air thanking them for their heroic actions.
"The two U.S. Soldiers and the two U.S. citizens actively assisted the flight attendant in restraining an unruly passenger, which eventually led to restoring safety and order on board," said the Korean Air Information Protection and Security Department in a letter sent to the Soldiers and the U.S. embassy. "Even though it is tough for passengers to willingly help the flight attendant in the event of an inflight disturbance, their prompt response to the flight attendant's request for assistance made all of our staff deeply moved and grateful."
Their brave actions brought the passengers of flight KE024 safely to their destination. Coburn and Jensen returned to continue with their nine-month rotation. During this rotation, 3CR Soldiers from Fort Cavazos enhanced readiness and interoperability with allies and partners in the region. They provided additional capability and flexibility to respond to aggression and upheld the ROK-U.S. alliance's responsibilities. This transition will enable the U.S. to maintain capabilities on the Korean peninsula to react rapidly to any acts of aggression.
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.28.2024 21:39 |
| Story ID: | 472387 |
| Location: | CAMP HUMPHREYS, KR |
| Web Views: | 1,269 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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