Col. Curtis D. Taylor, commander, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, awards Spcs. Arthur Jones, right, and Colton Bogart, health care specialists, Company C, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st SBCT, with Army Commendation Medals for applying first aid and stabilizing a woman injured during a skiing accident March 6, 2016, at Copper Mountain Ski Resort. (Photo by 1st Lt. Logan Bolitho)
By 1st Lt. Amanda Price
4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
Two Fort Carson health care specialists put their medical skills to the test March 6, 2016, when a day of snowboarding at Copper Mountain led to a medical evacuation.
Spcs. Colton Bogart and Arthur Jones, both health care specialists with Company C, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were on their final run of the day when Jones saw Bogart kneeling by a tree as several bystanders huddled close by. A young female skier collided with a tree and was lying in the snow severely wounded.
Jones and Bogart reacted immediately.
“I had snowboarded past when I saw her lying near a tree. I used to be ski patrol so it was instinctual to go over and immediately take action,” said Bogart. “I didn’t think, I just knew it was the right thing to do.”
The first one on the scene, Bogart immediately stabilized her neck to prevent paralysis or further damage. After Jones arrived, the medics assessed the young woman for consciousness and further trauma.
“Everyone was calm and we all knew what to do. I’ve been a medic for two years, and this wasn’t the first time I’ve had to put my medical skills to use outside of the Army,” said Jones.
By the time the ski patrol arrived, the Soldiers were ready to assist, applying a splint to the young woman’s leg. All three secured the woman to the spine board and moved her to the toboggan to be evacuated to a hospital.
“At the time of the incident, there were eight other accidents the Copper Mountain Ski Patrol was responding to,” said Kevin Kelble, Copper Mountain medical foreman. “I was able to just give direction and the two medics knew what to do. They were extremely professional, and their focus was on taking care of the woman. They were absolutely invaluable; it allowed me to maintain the rest of my ski patrol at other sites.”
The young woman is recovering at a hospital and expected to make a full recovery.