Once the impact of the accident had sunk in, survivors reflected on their actions. Both Captains Rich and Godfrey believed that basic training in how to react to live artillery helped them to survive. Artillery drills taught them to "hit the ground and find cover.... Your best chance of survival lay in the first 12 inches of air from the ground up." Both dug themselves into the earth behind cover, and both survived. They were fortunate that protection was within a few feet of where they were standing.[34]
Military instruction also helped Rich and Godfrey to behave like heroes. Combat training taught them that a soldier's responsibility is to help other soldiers in time of need: "Those are my brothers, or however that feeling is; they're in trouble and we need to help them." Rich and Godfrey gained faith in their fellow soldiers that they would "not be left" and would "be taken care of." As a result, "a camaraderie . . . developed . . an unspoken understanding."[35]
Capt. B. Keith Poole, the commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 525th Military Intelligence Brigade, added: "It was a tough situation, but they were never overcome by it." Soldiers ran in to take care of injured comrades. They did not wait for someone to take charge. They did this on their own initiative. Poole echoed both Rich's and Godfrey's belief that their military training had enabled them to save many soldiers'lives.[36]
Similarly, Spc. Gus Siettas of the 2d Battalion, 504th Infantry, said: "If this type of accident had occurred in a civilian airport, it's likely that people would not have known what to do.... Common Task Training, battle drills and conditioning definitely saved lives out there."[37]
Spc. Gregory R. Norrid of the 1 st Battalion, 58th Aviation, who ran back into the accident area after the explosion to help the injured, also attributed his actions in combat lifesaving and common task training that stressed splinting and control of bleeding. After putting out the flames on one soldier, he heard another cry for a tourniquet. Norrid picked up a piece of wood to apply pressure and) while tending to the soldier, took an ammunition round fragment in his left arm. He continued to aid the injured despite his own wound. "In this situation there were a lot of other people who did what I did," he said. "It shows us that training (such as common task, basic first aid and combat lifesaving) is there for a reason. People think it's mundane, repeating it year after year, but . . . the training kicks in and you just do what you hope another soldier would do for you."[38]
Lt. Gen. Henry H. Shelton, the commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, praised the quick and impromptu response of the soldiers and rescue teams after the explosion. "When fear sets in, training takes over," Shelton said. "No one shied away.... It's that kind of phenomenal response that allowed us to get all the injured to the hospitals within 40 to 45 minutes."[39]
One month before the accident the 2d Battalion, 504th Infantry, had to simulate evacuating dead and wounded during maneuvers at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Lessons learned during those exercises helped the battalion to evacuate soldiers and account for fallen comrades on Green Ramp. "Most of the things . . . [at the crash site] were exactly what we had trained there," said Lt. Col. Stanley A. McChrystal, the battalion commander who had served with a special operations unit during the Gulf War. "We had to figure out who we had, and that's much harder than you think because of the confusion at the site."[40]
Proud of the heroes of Green Ramp, the commanding general of the 82d Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. William M. Steele, said:
It was soldiers saving soldiers. Soldiers putting out fires on other soldiers; soldiers dragging soldiers out of fires; resuscitating; giving soldiers CPR; putting tourniquets on limbs that had been severed; putting out fires on their bodies, sometimes with their own hands. Anything they could do to care for their buddies that were more seriously injured they were doing. They can't do that without knowing how. They responded the way they would in combat.[41]
The immediate response to the disaster on Green Ramp produced numerous heroes, while demonstrating the benefits of readiness, training, and contingency planning. Combat lifesaving courses, common task training, and quick evacuation undoubtedly saved lives. Firefighters, ambulance crews, and medevac teams answered the alerts with professionalism and dispatch, reflecting, in most respects, wellplanned schemes. The esprit de corps of the 82d Airborne Division, which had already been good, reached new heights of camaraderie and understanding because of the accident.
[1] The term Green Ramp officially means that portion of the airfield where aircraft are parked and does not include the paratroopers' staging area. Army users, however, traditionally refer to the prejump staging area the portion beyond the official ramp and main runway, all the way to the fence on Rifle Range Road—as Green Ramp, which is the usage followed in the text. The chapter title is taken from Cameron Porter and Shannon Rasmussen, "The Heroes of Green Ramp," Soldiers, May 1994.
[2] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. West with Capts James B. Rich and Daniel A. Godfrey, 14 Apr 94 (hereafler cited as Rich and Godfrey Interv).
[3] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. West with Capt M. Lee Walters and Lt Stephanie Walters, 13 Apr 94 (hereafter cited as Walters Interv).
[4] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. West with S Sgt Michael T. Kelley and Mrs. Lisa Kelley, 25 May 94 (hereafter cited as Kelley Interv).
[5] Ibid.
[6] Jodi Enda, "Tracking Death's Path Along a Sunny Runway," Philade/phia Inquirer, 27 Mar 94, p. 1.
[7] Memo, Capt Gerald K. Bebber, Chaplain, 525th Military Intelligence Brigade, to Chaplain, XVIII Airborne Corps, 12 Apr 94, sub: After-Action Report, Green Ramp Catastrophe, 23 March 1994 (hereafler cited as Bebber Memo). The "pack shed" referred to in this memorandum is the pax shed.
[8] Memo, Capt Jonathan C. Gibbs III, Chaplain, 1 59th Aviation Group (Combat)(Airborne), to Chaplain, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg, N.C., 28 Mar 94, sub: Witness Statement, Pope Air Force Base Green Ramp Accident 23 March 1994 (hereafler cited as Gibbs Memo).
[9] Rich and Godfrey Interv, 14 Apr 94.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Kelley Interv, 25 May 94.
[12] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. West with Sgt Jacob T. Nacyaert, Jr., 25 May 94.
[13] Walters Interv, 13 Apr 94; Bebber Memo, 12 Apr 94.
[14] As quoted in Pat Reese, "'A Huge Fireball Rolled at Us,"' Fayetteville ObserverTimes, 24 Mar 94, p. 1A. See also p. 13A.
[15] "They Helped Victims When No One Else Could," Fayetteville Observer-Times, 26 Mar 94, p. 7A.
[16] As quoted in Marc Barnes, "'Doc' Was the Best He Could Be—and Proved It," Fayetteville Observer-Times, 29 Mar 94, p. 3B.
[17] Interv, Sgt Patricia Lewis with Spc Michael J. Fournier, 12 Apr 94.
[18] Interv, Mary Ellen Condon-Rall with Sgt Christopher J. Burson, Sgt Jacob T. Naeyaert, Jr., and Spc Michael R Fletcher, 2 Aug 95.
[19] The narrative on Chaplain Bebber in this and the following paragraph, to include all quotations, is based on the Bebber Memo, 12 Apr 94.
[20] The distressed cargo shed is used to store damaged equipment.
[21] Gibbs Memo, 28 Mar 94.
[22] As quoted in Porter and Kasmussen, ``Heroes of Green Ramp," p. 4.
[23] The narrative on captain Rich in this and the following two paragraphs, to include all quotations, is based on the Rich and Godfrey Interv, 14 Apr 94.
[24] Ibid.
[25] As quoted in 7itimberly N. Mason, "Medics Take Care of Wounded Soldiers," Tiger Times (Pope A* Force Base, N.C.), I Apr 94, p. 12. See also Walters Interv, 14 Apr 94; Interv, Col Mary T. Sarnecky with Capt James Mingus, 8 Apr 94. Mingus served in the 2d Battalion, 505th Infantry.
[26] As quoted in Michael Adams, "Debris Rips Paratroopers," Fayetteville ObserverTimes, 26 Mar 94, p. 4A. See also Carol D. Leonnig, "Quick Warn*ng, Training Saved Lives," Charlotte Observer, 25 Mar 94, p. 10A.
27 Stephanie Banchero, "Plan Bought Precious Time for Fire Crews," Charlotte Observer, 25 Mar 94, p. 10A.
[28] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. West with Firefighters No. 1, Fort Bragg, 4 Apr 94
[29] Memo, Col (USAF) Lawrence R. Whitehurst, MC, Cdr, 23d Medical Squadron to Medical Readiness Committee, 23d Medical Squadron, and Cdr, 23d Wing, 31 Mar 94, sub: Medlcal Afler-Actlon Report for Aircraft Accident, 23 March 1994 (hereafter cited as Whitehurst Memo).
[30] Ibid.
[31] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. West with Crew Members, 57th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), 14 Apr 94 (hereafter ched as 57th Medical Co Interv); Memo, Col Stephen L. Jones, Dep Cdr for Clinical Services, WAMC, to U.S. Army Center of Military History, 3 Apr 95, sub: Medical Response to the F-16 Crash at Pope Air Force Base, 23 March 1994.
[32] 57th Medical Co Interv, 14 Apr 94.
[33] Whitehurst Memo, 31 Mar 94.
[34] Rich and Godfrey Interv, 14 Apr 94.
[35] Ibid.
[36] As quoted Porter and Rasmussen, "Heroes of Green Ramp," p. 5.
[37] As quoted in ibid.
[38] As quoted in Kent Kisselbrack,"Soldier's Medal: Army Specialist Honored for Heroism During Pope AFB Tragedy Last Year," Korus Monthly, May 1995, p. 10.
[39] As quoted in Leonnig, "Quick Warning," p. 10A.
[40] As quoted in Henry Cuningham, ``Battalion Remains Ready TO Fight Despite Crash Losses, Leader Says," Fayetteville Observer-Times, 31 Mar 94, p. 4A.
[41] Interv, Lt Col Iris J. west with Maj Gen William M. Steele, 20 Apr 94.
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