JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
When aboard ship or ashore, Sailors are expected to be able to react to any situation, ranging from enemy engagement to applying medical care to an injured shipmate.
For two Sailors assigned to Navy Talent Acquisition Group San Antonio at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, their Navy training kicked in Nov. 5 after a shooting near a local high school.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Rodriguez and Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Davis had just concluded a school visit to Highlands High School, and upon driving away from the school, they witnessed a shooting of a man outside his residence.
After hearing the gunshots, the recruiters cautiously approached the residence and saw the victim laying in the driveway, after which they instructed the neighbors to call 911. The recruiters began to apply pressure to the wound and treat the victim for shock until emergency medical services arrived five minutes later.
“We happen to be in the right place at the right time,” said Davis, who has been a recruiter for 18 months. “The basic lifesaving skills we attained in the Navy definitely prepared us for the moment.”
“I knew we could do something,” said Rodriguez, who received basic medical training while aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). “Our initial thoughts were on the whereabouts of the shooter, but we knew we had to act fast.”
After EMS arrived, the Sailors reported the observations of the incident the San Antonio Police.
NTAG San Antonio’s area of responsibility includes more than 30 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread throughout 144,000 square miles of Central and South Texas territory.