Courtesy Photo | New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Joel Strickland, left, and Spec. Desany...... read more read more
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NEW YORK--Two quick-thinking, well-trained New York National Guard Soldiers helped save the life of a man stabbed at a Queens subway station on May 20, 2024.
Staff Sgt. Joel Strickland, and Spec. Desany Jacques, members of the New York Guard’s New York City security force, used their medical skills, and trauma kits, to stop the bleeding and stabilize him.
Both men have military medical training and are volunteer first responders in civilian life. So, they were the right people to handle this emergency, according to Capt. Caleb Jean, their company commander in Joint Task Force-Empire Shield.
“These two Soldiers were able to react without hesitation," Jean said. “I am extremely impressed with how they handled the situation.”
The incident began just after 2 p.m., when Strickland and Jacques reported to the security checkpoint site at the Suphin Blvd and Archer St. subway station.
Since March 6, at the direction of Gov. Kathy Hochul, members of the joint task force have been assisting the New York Police Department and Metropolitan Transit Authority Police Department as officers check the bags of subway riders.
The Guard personnel backup the officers as their eyes, while the cops look inside backpacks and bags.
Strickland, a Manhattan resident, and medic assigned to the headquarters company of the 42nd Infantry Division, has served in Joint Task Force Empire Shield since 2020.
Jacques, who lives in Uniondale, and is assigned to the 102nd Military Police Company as a supply specialist, has served for eight months.
Joint Task Force-Empire Shield is made up of 780 Soldiers and Airmen who serve on state active duty orders, while also performing their annual training and drill periods. They provide a security presence in the city’s train stations, the airports, at bridges and now at subway stations.
The two Soldiers were introducing themselves to the two police officers they would be supporting, when they heard a commotion, Strickland recalled. A shirtless man was coming down the stairs cursing and screaming.
He jumped the turnstile and began fighting with two other civilians, Strickland said.
Five police officers moved to break up the fight and get the men out of the subway, Strickland said. They asked the two Soldiers to cover their backs and do crowd control while they broke up the scuffle.
The officers got them headed out of the station, when the two men who had been attacked ran up to the two Soldiers and one of the cops.
“Specialist Jacques says, ‘Are you okay?’ One of the civilians turns around—he had a black hoodie on—and his entire hoodie was soaked in blood,” Strickland said.
The cops said they would call a “bus”, slang for an ambulance.
Strickland and Jacques went into action.
Strickland directed Jacques, who is trained as a combat lifesaver, to run up to their vehicle and retrieve the EMT bag inside.
He and the police got the victim on the ground, and pulled up the hoodie, Strickland said.
The wound was on the upper right side of his back, was about the width of a nickel, and was four inches long, he recalled.
He had put on latex gloves and covered the wound to stop the bleeding.
Now, Strickland needed a special trauma bandage from his medical kit, known as an IFAK-- short for Individual First Aid Kit-- that task force members carry.
Like the Quick Clot bandages carried in Iraq and Afghanistan, the gauze is impregnated with a material that makes blood clot. These newer bandages – called CELOX--use material from the shells of shrimp, crabs, and lobsters to do the same thing.
He needed to begin packing the victim’s wound with the bandage, he explained. But he didn’t have a free hand. Fortunately, Jacques who is “kind of fast”, was already back with the larger aid kit and ready to help, Strickland said.
He instructed Jacques to open the bandage packet, make a ball at the end of the gauze strip, and get the ball into his hands, which were still on the wound, Strickland said.
The two Soldiers worked together to pack the lifesaving material into the hoodie-wearing man’s wound. They packed the wound for four minutes until the bleeding stopped.
While this was going on, the police kept the crowds away. About 10 minutes after the bleeding stopped the EMTs showed up.
Jean, the two Soldiers’ company commander, said that all members of the task force have been trained on how to perform emergency trauma care so they can aid civilians and each other.
New York National Guard leaders also made it a point to get the trauma kits for the task force members, Jean said.
“Having that package was extremely instrumental to what occurred at that post,” he said. “A few years ago, we did not have it.”
Soldiers and Airmen assigned to the task force have to be ready for something unusual or dangerous, like the stabbing, to happen any time. Jacques said.
“I would definitely say, don’t be complacent,” he said. “Every day is something new on post for us.”
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2024 08:59 |
| Story ID: | 472966 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 640 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, NY National Guard Soldiers save life of stabbing victim, by Eric Durr, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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