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Recruiter serves as wingman in remote rescue

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Bob Blauser
  • Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AFB, Texas --  The goal of the Air Force's 101 Critical Days of Summer campaign is to reduce the large number of off-duty mishaps during the summer months. Hand in hand with that is the need to have a good wingman at your side.

That's exactly what Senior Master Sgt. Paul Gallagher, 311th Recruiting Squadron senior trainer, was fortunate enough to have while mountain biking near Houston, Pa., June 4.

After work, Sergeant Gallagher, his 11-year-old son, Christopher, and co-worker Tech. Sgt. Vic McHenry, 311th RCS standardization and training NCO, went for a bike ride in the forest behind Sergeant Gallagher's home. The trio decided to take a break after reaching the top of a large hill about four miles into the woods, Sergeant McHenry said.

Shortly after starting back down the hill, Sergeant McHenry said he heard, "whoa, whoa, whoa," just in time to turn around and see Sergeant Gallagher flip over his handlebars and land hard in tall grass. Sergeant McHenry said he initially didn't think he was too seriously hurt when he peddled back up to check on him. When he reached his co-worker, though, he found him lying in the fetal position groaning.

"I could tell from the sound that he was in a lot of pain," he said. "That's when I knew I had to get help fast."

After calming down Sergeant Gallagher's son, Sergeant McHenry instructed Christopher to look after his father while he went for help. He quickly called Sergeant Gallagher's wife to have her contact 9-1-1, then peddled about four miles to the nearest road, went to the first house he saw, and had responders meet him there. It took about another hour for Sergeant McHenry to lead responders to his injured biking partner.

After stabilizing Sergeant Gallagher, responders transported him to Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh via Life Flight helicopter to treat him for a broken collarbone, five broken ribs and a concussion. According to Sergeant McHenry, doctors there said that if Sergeant Gallagher hadn't been wearing a helmet, he would have suffered a substantial head injury.

Sergeant McHenry, who frequently rides mountain bikes, said this incident really drove home the importance of having a wingman, especially when participating in potentially dangerous activities.

"If I had decided not to go riding with Sergeant Gallagher, it could have been a lot worse," he said. "I put down a lot of miles riding alone, but not anymore."

"This is a great example of the wingman concept in action," said Brig. Gen. Suzanne Vautrinot, Air Force Recruiting Service commander. "They not only did the right thing by biking together, but Sergeant McHenry's quick thinking and level-headed actions resulted in a speedy rescue for Sergeant Gallagher."