Photo By Gregory Mitchell | PENSACOLA, Fla. (April 12, 2018) - Maj. Javier Garcia, commanding officer of Aviation...... read more read more
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By Christopher Catlett
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The call to action is often unpredictable. When the call comes it can test our courage, preparedness and resolve. The choice someone might have to make in an instant could mean life or death. A service member could reasonably expect this dilemma to occur on deployment rather than at home. But the call to action came to Marine Corps Sgt. Tyler Harman, an apprentice technical training instructor for Marine Aviation Training Support Group (MATSG) 23, when he had to quickly respond to save a choking child’s life.
The day was Feb. 1. Harman’s wife alerted him that their neighbor’s 3-year-old son Rylan Strother was choking. Harman took control of the situation by directing Rylan’s father to call 911 while he began to administer CPR to the child, attempting to restore his breathing. During his administration of CPR, Harman noticed there was a grape lodged in the child’s throat. He proceeded to use the finger swipe technique to remove it from Rylan’s airway.
Harman’s timely response and handling of the situation enabled him to restore the child’s breathing. This bought time for the paramedics to arrive, evaluate and safely transport the child to the hospital for further observation. Rylan was released later that night in good health.
Due to his actions for performing critical life saving measures, Harman’s command onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola deemed him highly deserving of the award of Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal on Apr. 12.
Prior to the award ceremony, Harman was asked what his first thought was after being notified that Rylan was choking. He said his first thought was to take charge of the situation. His confidence came from the military training that he has gone through several times for such situations. In Harman’s Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of avionics he is required to go through CPR training every two years. Due to this training Harman was readily able to step in and take charge.
“You don’t think twice about it,” said Harman.
Harman hopes that entry level Marines take this story and see it as an inspiration to take their training seriously.
“There may be a time when you have to utilize the training you have been given,” said Harman. “It doesn’t matter if you are deployed or not, always be ready.”
Maj. Javier Garcia, commanding officer of Aviation Maintenance Squadron 2 onboard NAS Pensacola, presented Harman’s award.
“If I were to use two words to describe him, he is the quiet professional,” said Garcia, speaking to a crowd of trainees and instructors from MATSG-23.
Garcia stated that Harman did not go to the squadron looking for an award or recognition. In fact, no one at the squadron would have known that Harman saved young Rylan’s life if the grandfather of Rylan, who happens to be a Sgt. Maj. in the Army, had not called Harman’s command and told them the story.
“That speaks volumes about Sgt. Harman,” said Garcia. “We cannot speak enough about the actions and the type of Marine that Sgt. Harman is.”
Garcia stated that taking life is often associated with Marines. However, when a Marine saves a life it can sometimes be overlooked.
“Its not always about oorah oorah, kill kill,” said Garcia. “We are here to serve. We serve the Marine Corps, we serve our community, we serve our nation - Sgt. Harman embodies the spirit of service, selfless.”
Harman felt humbled to be honored in such a way.
“I wasn’t expecting this kind of recognition when this event first took place,” said Harman. “I was just glad that Rylan was okay.”
Harman has two children himself, a 5-month-old daughter and a son who is only two months younger than Rylan. After the incident, the two families have developed a friendship and Rylan and Harman’s son now play with one another.
Amber Strother, the mother of Rylan, who was present at the award ceremony, expressed her thankfulness for Harman’s actions and said, “I don’t want to think about what would have happened if they weren’t home.”
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.19.2018 16:28 |
| Story ID: | 273747 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 473 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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