Six soldiers received the Meritorious Service Medal for their actions during an active shooter incident that wounded five service members at Fort Stewart, Georgia, on Wednesday.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll presented the medals Thursday to Sgt. Aaron Turner, Master Sgt. Justin Thomas, Staff Sgt. Robert Pacheco, Sgt. Eve Rodarte, 1st Sgt. Joshua Arnold and Sgt. Melissa Taylor for their quick response in subduing the shooter and preventing further violence.
“The fast action of these soldiers under stress and under trauma and under fire absolutely saved lives. They are everything that is good about this nation,” Driscoll said at a news conference.
The awards were presented on behalf of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Driscoll said.
Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, is accused of using a personal handgun to shoot five soldiers at the Georgia base, one of the nation’s largest Army bases and home to the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, on Wednesday morning.
All five wounded service members are in stable condition and expected to recover. Three have been released from the hospital, while two remain hospitalized.
Officials have not released a possible motive for the shooting.
Law enforcement was sent to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team complex shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday and the suspect was arrested at 11:35 a.m., according to The Associated Press. A lockdown at the base lasted about an hour.
“It seemed like a flash went past my conference room,” Arnold, who helped to staunch a comrade’s bleeding gunshot injury, recalled to CNN. “You don’t really know how to process that in that moment. Of course, friends were shot. Bad things happen, and I’m going to continue to take care of my soldiers and continue to move forward.”
Turner tackled the shooter, jumping on top of Radford despite being unarmed. Originally from Farmington, New Mexico, Turner was relatively new to Fort Stewart and had been there less than a year as an automated logistical specialist.
Thomas, from Kingwood, Texas, helped restrain Radford until law enforcement arrived.
Pacheco, Rodarte, Arnold and Taylor rapidly came to the assistance of the wounded, using combat medic skills and tactical combat casualty care training.
The soldiers’ actions unquestionably saved lives on base, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division.
“Under duress and fire, they ran into battle to the sound of the gunfire, took down the assailant, and then took care of their comrades, and that made all the difference,” Driscoll said.
Army records released to The Associated Press show Radford enlisted in January 2018. He worked as a supply sergeant and has not been deployed, according to AP.
Radford is in pretrial confinement awaiting a charging decision by the Office of the Special Trial Counsel.
Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.
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