Navy strengthens ties during crucial time

  • Published
  • By Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo
  • Naval Air Facility Misawa
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  A brief mass casualty exercise, part of a larger triennial Air Force Unit Compliance Inspection, caught one Naval Air Facility Misawa Seabee by surprise Nov. 17. However, his actions in treating a simulated downed aviator earned praise from both Air Force and Navy personnel, and reinforced the already strong ties between the two services in Northern Japan.

Petty Officer 1st Class Clifford Martin was told in the morning to "be ready," and nothing else. He had no idea what situation exercise planners would throw his way, he said.

"You always plan for the worst, and hope for the best," Petty Officer Martin said. "Whether it's an exercise, or a real-life situation, you have to be ready."

Hearing what sounded like a loud explosion, he walked out of his office on the northern side of Misawa Air Base, Japan. The scene before him stopped the Seabee dead in his tracks.

"I've been involved in a lot of drills and exercises," he said, "but I'd never seen anything like this before!"

Lying in the concrete parking lot, deployed parachute and life raft still tethered to his body, was a motionless man in a flight suit, with what looked like a severe leg wound.

Petty Officer Martin, a graduate of the Seabee Combat Lifesaving Course, sprung into action. He ran inside and grabbed a first aid kit, then yelled to an officemate to call base emergency services. After checking the aviator's vital signs and determining that he was still breathing, Petty Officer Martin applied a tourniquet and splint to the man's leg. He continued to monitor the man's condition as he waited for first responders to arrive.

A Misawa Air Base firefighting team was scrambled to the scene, and Petty Officer Martin immediately updated team leader Staff Sgt. Kyle Scritchfield, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron, on the situation, including the downed aviator's vital signs, and actions he'd taken to that point.

Then, working alongside the two Airmen and one civilian firefighter, Petty Officer Martin assisted in monitoring the aviator's condition as the team worked a plan to get the unconscious victim safely evacuated.

According to Sergeant Scritchfield, the Seabee did everything right.

"He was a great help relaying the information through 9-1-1, which freed up time on-scene. When we got there, he had a good grip on what was going on, and he relayed a lot of information. Instead of going in blind, it gave us a jumpstart on the situation," Sergeant Scritchfield explained.

The veteran Airman and firefighter has been assigned to Misawa Air Base since April, but recalled working with Sailors on Okinawa from 2006 to 2007. He said that from his standpoint, joint operations are the right way to do business on Misawa, regardless of the situation.

"With modern warfare, and all the joint operations that we have," Sergeant Schritchfield said, "our working with Navy assets here, very realistically prepares us for what we're probably going to be doing down-range, in a joint environment."

Petty Officer Martin passed the test with flying colors, according to Chief Petty Officer Danny Kenney, a member of the Misawa Air Base Exercise Evaluation Team. Chief Kenney was on hand to make notes and critique Petty Officer Martin and other first responders for the exercise.

"[Petty Officer Martin] did a great job," Chief Kenney said. "His response was really good. Based on the speed of his reaction, this poor aviator has a great chance to survive."