Team exercises Gold Knight award

  • Published
The Gold Knight recipient for December is the diverse Fitness Center emergency response team, who leapt into action, aiding a patron suffering a heart attack at the fitness center.

Six members, including fitness center staff, patrons and the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron Emergency Response Team, responded to a patron having a heart attack. The team worked together to save the man's life, calling 911, administering CPR and using an automated external defibrillator to establish a heart rhythm until emergency response personnel arrived.

The team consisted of Tech. Sgt. Porter Gee, 21st Force Support Squadron; Senior Airman Ross Belknap, 21st FSS; Airman 1st Class Jason Hanna, 21st FSS; Staff Sgt. Luis Mendiola, 21st CES; Senior Airman Colton Balthazar, 21st CES; Andy Cathey, Headquarters Air Force Space Command; and Tech. Sgt. Craig Thompson, 17th Test Squadron.

The man having the heart attack was stabilized and transported to Memorial Hospital, where he recovered and was released two weeks later.