Verification of Action

[NIN]

About 16 years ago, my girlfriend (later wife & then ex-wife, as you can expect!<GRIN>) and I were eating dinner at home when she got a little overexuberant with the pita bread and started choking.  I hopped up, ran around the table and had to do the ol' Heimlich maneuver about 3 times before this chuck of pita bread popped out of her mouth onto the dining room table and she could breathe again.

After making sure she was OK, I said "[Darn], no witnesses, no lifesaving award!"

I think my marriage was really doomed at that point.

[heliodoc]

Good Story, NIN!!!

Unfortunately, some in CAP see lifesaving as a bling collection or soon to be bling / award..

Unfortunately, lifesaving can not be a quiet accomplishment and one can walk away in complete silence doing good service, to some.......

[lordmonar]

Unfortunately, the original poster hasn't come back. However, proving you were at the scene seems like a legitimate requirement.  What you did was so amazing you saved this mans life, but nobody recalls you being there?  I could see that needing to be cleared up.

On one level I agree with you.

But on another I think it is BS.

I have stopped to assist at several accidents scenes (some very bad, some not so) but in each case no one ever took down my name....and I sure was not going to go around asking the police and EMT "what's your name and badge number so I can do the award paperwork later".

Lets play some what if games.

One of my cadets helps out at an accident.

He is just being a good citizens....

He later tells me the story describing what happened, what he did and when and where it happened.
He was not trolling for an award...he was just relating an intresting thing that happened to him on the way to school one day.

I think it deserves a lifesaving award or BSV or SMV or the Congression Medal of Cranial-anal Inversion.  I write it up and submit it.  But the Awards Board wants proof.

There is no record.  Sure there may be a record that there was an injury accident at X location on or about X time.  That the victim was injured and transported to X hospital.

But as Flying Pig said...the cops are too busy doing their accident report, directing traffic, etc to note down each and every John & Jane Q. Public who was out there helping.

My point being.....this Wing Policy basically makes it nearly impossible to get this award.

It is an integrity issue.  That works on both levels.  If I doubt the integrity of my cadet....I may ask for some support or do a little checking up on my own.  So when the awards board kicks it back for lack of proof they are either questioning the interigty or competance of the submitter.  If proof is required they need to spell out what constitutes prooof so that the supporting documents can be included in the awards package.

[UWONGO2]

Sorry folks, I've been busy.

I didn't include a narrative of the incident itself because I didn't think that was relevant to the main point of discussion - how much "proof" should our chain of command require when awards are submitted. Since the hypothesis was given that it's unlikely life-saving care can be provided without the person appearing in a police/EMS report, I'll provide the details as I know them to see if that question can be answered.

The member from my squadron came upon an accident scene involving a vehicle upside and facing the wrong direction. Stopping to render aid, the member discovered a marginally conscious driver hanging upside from a seat belt. After checking for a fuel leak, the member climbed into the vehicle and provided support to the driver's c-spine, checked the lacerations for excessive bleeding, and woke the driver up. The driver's legs were pinned under the dash. The member had to convince three separate good samaritans against removing the driver from the vehicle. A good samaritan climbed into the front of the vehicle and assisted in keeping the driver awake and providing encouragement.

The first interaction with public safety personnel happened with a motorcycle officer appearing at the scene. The member provided a brief patient status report to the officer who provided a blank look and stammered, "I was just driving by. Fire should be here soon." The officer walked around to the other side of the car to chat with the assembled crowd. The interaction lasted about 15 seconds. The officer did apparently convince a persistent good samaritan that in fact no, the driver should not be removed from the car, so he was in fact helpful.

Later the fire department arrived and was clearly annoyed to find two people in the vehicle with the driver and ordered everyone out. The member exited and was ignored by fire personnel. The interaction with the fire officer lasted about 10 seconds.

According to the computer report that was obtained, the patient was extricated from the vehicle by the fire department and was transported in critical condition. 

Hopefully this adequately explains why the member doesn't have any proof of providing care and how unlikely it is to find someone who will recall the member being at the scene (minimal interaction with public safety, the patient was barely conscious). I spent eight years as a law enforcement volunteer, I never saw good samaritans get their names into police reports unless they were witnesses. The best my fellow member can do is to provide the names of the coworkers who talked him down from his adrenaline rush and helped pick glass out his hair and clothes.

The story about CAP members making up a crash to earn medals is certainly disheartening. It takes just only a few to screw it up for everyone else.

[Flying Pig]

The first interaction with public safety personnel happened with a motorcycle officer appearing at the scene. The member provided a brief patient status report to the officer who provided a blank look and stammered, "I was just driving by. Fire should be here soon." The officer walked around to the other side of the car to chat with the assembled crowd. The interaction lasted about 15 seconds. The officer did apparently convince a persistent good samaritan that in fact no, the driver should not be removed from the car, so he was in fact helpful.

Well, its good the officer was helpful   We are also trained to stand and continually adjust the volume on our radios to make it look like we are doing something productive and defer any comment to when the fire pigs show up. 

Yeah, hard to say.  So I guess the issue now is #1, how do we prove he was there?  Maybe ask the motor officer who stopped by?  It could be as simple as sending him an email at work and asking him to call you.  Most PDs its easy to get.  My email is on my business card so its not  a secret. it will usually be their name@cityofyadayada or something.  Call and ask for it.   Also most officers have department voice mail.

#2, determining if again, the action was in fact "lifesaving"

In the end, I would perhaps go for a Commanders Commendation or Achievement Medal if it ultimately gets denied.

PM Sent