Gate guard initiates life-saving action Published July 10, 2009 By Brandice J. Armstrong Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Some might say Mike Shults went beyond the call of duty June 24. Others might say he was simply doing his job. Ask the officer about the chain of events and he'll likely say he just reacted. Mr. Shults was guarding his post at the commercial vehicle inspection gate, just after 11 a.m., when he learned there was an unconscious woman just east of the commercial gate. Mr. Shults responded. "Mike's quick action proves that he embodies all the traits we need in a security forces member," said Lt. Col. Lisette Childers, 72nd Security Forces Squadron commander. "He immediately took charge and handled the situation just as he would be ready to take charge in any security situation. He is a great representative of Team Tinker and we are lucky to have someone of his caliber in our unit." The incident began when a driver, from one of the two 18-wheeler commercial trucks waiting to be escorted on base, ran up to Mr. Shults at the gate-guard house. He said his friend's wife was unresponsive in his truck. "[My] partner, Jim Snider, called control over the radio and requested fire and [emergency medical services], while [I] ran to help the woman, Mr. Shults said. The woman allegedly suffered a heart attack and fell out of the passenger seat to the floor. Despite several attempts to wake the 62-year-old woman, nothing worked. There was no pulse nor was she breathing. "She was turning gray," Mr. Shults said. The security officer administered CPR and when Tinker Fire Department's six-person crew arrived on the scene, Mr. Shults asked for and was given an AED. "I think fire got there just in time, because early defibrillation is really the key to survival," he said. Mr. Shults, a firefighter/emergency medical technician basic with the fire department in Kingfisher, has been trained to use an AED since 2005, but said the June 24 incident was his first time using the device in an emergency. "I was just trying to concentrate on my chest compressions," Mr. Shults said, "and hoping we caught her in time. That's all that was going through my mind." Mr. Shults continually tried to recover the woman's heartbeat. The AED delivered one shock and Mr. Stults continued CPR as the machine reassessed her condition and advised "no shock," which means she didn't have a "shockable" rhythm. Mr. Shults and personnel from the fire department carried the woman out of the truck to awaiting paramedics from Midwest Regional Medical Center. She was loaded onto a stretcher, placed into the ambulance where they were able to get a rhythm before transporting her to the hospital. The whole scene lasted 26 minutes, said Neal Young, Tinker Fire Department assistant chief of special operations. At Midwest Regional Medical Center, officials put a defibrillator in her. She went home June 30. As a result of the event, Mr. Shults said he'd like to see each gate and each patrol unit equipped with an AED. "I know they're expensive and you might not ever use it," he said, "but it just takes one time." Due to his actions, Col. Allen Jamerson, 72nd Air Base Wing commander, presented Mr. Shults with a 72nd ABW Wildcatter coin for outstanding service. "Even though the gate guards seem confrontational at times because they have to check everyone's identification cards, they are there and have the skills necessary to provide the first line of defense for this installation and they're there to help the population," said Capt. Robert Prausa, 72nd SFS Operations officer.