Hurlburt Field Air Commandos help save life after near drowning at Florida beach

HURLBURT FIELD, FL, UNITED STATES

07.20.2018

Story by Airman 1st Class Edward Coddington 

1st Special Operations Wing

The sounds of chaos replaced the tranquil splashing of the Emerald Coast waves against the sugar white sand one Saturday afternoon in Destin, Florida.
A family rushed in panic toward the shoreline as a child was pulled from the waves, water rushing off his face – he was not breathing.
The clock was ticking and the actions two Hurlburt Field Air Commandos and their wives took would mean the difference between life and death.
U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Shawn Snyder and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Cody Wooten, hydraulic journeymen with the 901st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and their spouses helped save a child from nearly drowning at a beach, July 7, 2018.
“We were spending time, hanging out with our families, enjoying ourselves … then things turned around quickly,” said Snyder.
The commotion unfolded when a man came out of the water clutching a young boy in his arms, foam coming from the boy’s mouth and nose, and laid him on a towel near the Airmen and their families.
“Everyone just immediately reacted and everyone did their part,” said Wooten.
Wooten and Snyder’s spouses immediately began trying to resuscitate the boy. Soon thereafter, the boy regained consciousness enough to cough up water and yelled.
“Things were happening so fast … we were trying to do what we could to make sure the kid made it out of there,” said Snyder.
During this time, Snyder directed an ambulance down to the beach where Wooten was continuing CPR. Paramedics quickly took control of the situation and transported the boy to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center.
“We train for stuff like this all the time,” said Wooten in regards to self-aid and buddy care. “Even if we don’t think about it, we’ve done it every year we’ve been in.”
Airmen are required, at a minimum, to complete SABC when tasked with a deployment, which encompasses basic life support techniques, and how to quickly react to a situation with a proper form of treatment.
Without the emergency-care knowledge these Air Commandos have learned through Air Force training, they might not have been as prepared that day.
“It hits close to home,” said Snyder. “Most of us are fathers and we had our kids there.”
The child recovered and was released from FWBMC on July 9, 2018.

• Date Taken: 07.20.2018
• Date Posted: 07.25.2018 14:24
• Story ID: 285372
• Location: HURLBURT FIELD, FL, US