Email
FORURM
InstantForum.NET v3.4
Home
Login Register
CombatWeather.org Forums   » Public Area   » Public Affairs/Media News   » Wounded Special Ops Weatherman...  

Welcome Guest ( Login or Register )
Active Topics |  Popular Topics 

Wounded Special Ops Weatherman keeps eyes forward
Author
Message
Posted 5/1/2009 9:09 PM
Forum Administrator
Forum Administrator
Group: Operators
Active: 8/11/2010
Posts: 263
Wounded special ops weatherman keeps eyes forward

by Chief Master Sgt. Ty Foster
Air Force Special Operations Command

http://www.afweather.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123135759

2/17/2009 - HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) -- In an instant, Senior Airman Alex Eudy went from battling the enemies of Afghanistan to battling for his life.

It was just after 1 a.m. Jan. 24. He was only two months into his first deployment after graduating from advanced-skills training here in September 2008. The special operations weather team journeyman and the Marines he served with were on patrol about 30 miles from their firebase in the western province of Farah.

Behind the wheel of the fourth of four humvees, Airman Eudy and the five others in his vehicle kept their eyes peeled for variations in the road surface, exposed wires, freshly dug soil.-"Scab left" or "scab right" they called out. The driver adjusted his path of travel accordingly to mitigate the threat to the special operations patrol.

Then the roadway erupted.

Two 155-mm mortars and a Soviet anti-tank mine were command-detonated under the front of the vehicle. The engine flew 30 feet away as the six-ton rig somersaulted three times. The concussion of the blast rendered Airman Eudy unconscious.

His personal protective gear had done its job. There were no puncture wounds or lacerations from flying debris. In the violence of the explosion, however, his helmet chinstrap had sawed through the skin on his lower jaw. Everything else seemed fine, except his legs.

When he came to, he said he was lying nearby, outside the vehicle. He thought he'd been thrown out.

"My Marines told me when they pulled me out of the vehicle, they could hear the bones crunching," the 22-year-old warrior said. "Of the six of us in that vehicle, I was one of two who were non-ambulatory."

So Airman Eudy became the casualty collection point as the Marine special ops team set a defensive perimeter and requested med-evac airlift. He didn't just lie there, Airman Eudy said. He checked his buddies and put his combat lifesaver first aid training to work. He checked his weapon. The 9-mm pistol was still in its holster, but his M-4 rifle had been lost in the explosion.

In the hours and days after the explosion, Airman Eudy's parents, Dale and Kathy Eudy of Highlands Ranch, Colo., spoke with their son and others involved in the convoy, medical evacuation, treatment and travel back to the states.

Despite dozens of fractures from both knees down, the special ops weatherman kept his mission focus, Mr. Eudy said. With a medical evacuation helicopter, Airman Eudy's special operations weather team mission was paramount.

"When the medevac was inbound, Alex was telling his Marines how to use his instruments to pass critical weather data for the helicopter landing zone," Mr. Eudy said.

"That's what we do, generate high-fidelity, localized, mission-tailored forecast to for ingress, employment and egress of air, land and sea forces," Airman Eudy said.

His training and discipline had earned him his gray beret, fulfilling a dream he'd held as a 17-year-old. Now it would bolster him for survival and recovery.

"When the med-evac helicopter touched down, the flight medical technician knelt down to Alex who was strapped down on the stretcher," Mr. Eudy7 said. "'We're gonna take care of you,' he said. 'You're going to be okay.'"

In triage later that morning, Airman Eudy said he heard the doctor saying, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." The quote by Sir Edmund Burke is tattooed on Airman Eudy's back.

"That's why we're here," Airman Eudy said. "That's why special tactics is so important. We can't sit around and let evil triumph."

Less than 10 days after the explosion, the Airman was lying in a waiting room in the hospital at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., swaddled from the knees down in bandages, bones pinned, screwed and grafted. He was surrounded by family and friends, "and everyone is Alex's friend," Mrs. Eudy said.

Lt. Gen. Donny Wurster, the commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, stopped in to present the bed-ridden, post-op Airman with The Purple Heart and the Air Force Combat Action Medal.

The only time Airman Eudy's "eyes leaked," as he put it, was when he offered tribute to his fellows who were wounded with him and to the Marines who had adopted him as one of their own.

They adopted him, as they do all special operations battlefield Airmen, because despite their high-operations tempo, these Airmen seamlessly integrate with their sister service brothers.

"We're in the field in direct contact with enemy fighters and friendly air assets, keeping them abreast of real-time conditions on the target," said Senior Master Sgt. Scott Gilbert, 10th Combat Weather Squadron operations NCO in charge.

Despite the months of painful healing, rehabilitation and reliance on others, he is not dissuaded.

"Wallowing in sorrows doesn't do anybody any good," Airman Eudy said. "I'm not out of the fight. This is just a different kind of fight."

He approaches his recovery just like any other mission.

"Just like we pack our gear for a mission, I know what's going on with my treatment," he said. "I'm packing my tools for a different battlefield. As a patient, I'll never be uneducated. I'll know my treatment options and medications."

He hopes his recovery will lead him to the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Airman Eudy said there is a chance he will not return to duty as a fully functioning and deployable special operations weather team member. Regardless, his special tactics brethren offer unflagging support to Airman Eudy and his family. That camaraderie, seemingly forged in the DNA of special tactics Airmen, will carry Airman Eudy down the road to recovery, he said.

"They become your family and families intertwine," Airman Eudy said. "In special tactics, you're held to a higher calling. It's something more that protects you, not only on the battlefield, but on the home front as well."

Time will tell whether Airman Eudy wins his battle to regain his former mobility. Vast challenges lay ahead, but Alex Eudy -- Airman, warrior, friend -- is keeping his eyes forward to win the next battle.

 


WMB
IP Logged
This member is offline.
Posted 12/1/2009 7:09 PM


Forum Administrator
Forum Administrator
Group: Operators
Active: Today @ 4:27 PM
Posts: 123
Wounded Warrior speaks to SNCOE Course attendees about injuries, views on AF

Posted 11/12/2009   Updated 11/12/2009 Email story   Print story

<script type=text/javascript>addthis_pub = 'aflink';</script><script type=text/javascript src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/152/addthis_widget.js"></script>

by Airman 1st Class Brigitte Brantley
23rd Wing Public Affairs

11/12/2009 - MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- A Purple Heart recipient recently visited future master sergeants here during a brief for newly-selected senior NCOs.

Staff Sgt. Alex Eudy, a special operations weatherman assigned to the 10th Combat Weather Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., spoke to members of the Senior NCO Enhancement Course about his experiences while deployed and how they impacted his views on the Air Force.

An Airman is considered an Air Force Wounded Warrior when they have incurred a combat or hostile-related injury or illness requiring long-term care. They must stand before a Medical Evaluation Board or Physical Evaluation Board to determine fitness for duty.

In a deployed location, special operations weathermen are responsible for conducting battlefield weather observations, environmental reconnaissance and forecasting conditions for missions.

Two months into his first deployment in Afghanistan, Sergeant Eudy's life was about to change. At the time, the enthusiastic Airman was providing weather support for a U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations team. While heading back to his base after a mission, the up-armored Humvee he was driving was hit by two 155 mm mortars and a Soviet anti-tank mine detonated under the vehicle.

"The mine was planted three to four feet underneath the ground; if it was buried any further up, I might not have survived," said Sergeant Eudy. "When the Marines pulled me out, I just thought my legs were bruised, so when they asked me if I could walk, I said, 'Of course.' My teammates later told me that they could hear my bones cracking through their headphones as I tried to stand up."

Once his teammates realized the extent of his injuries, they got to work stabilizing him. Sergeant Eudy suffered a total of 32 major fractures and it was initially thought his left leg might have to be amputated.

"The accident happened in the middle of the night, so it was difficult to really see my injuries because of the lack of light," he added. "With night vision goggles, they inserted an intravenous line into my arm, pulled everybody else out of the vehicle and posted security."

While Sergeant Eudy lay injured, he assisted the Marines in using his weather equipment to help a medical evacuation helicopter navigate through conditions and land safely.

Less than 10 days after the accident, Sergeant Eudy was back stateside. After undergoing three separate surgeries totaling 23 hours at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., he was presented the Purple Heart Award and Air Force Combat Action Medal by the commander of the Air Force Special Operation Command.

"I was put in a wheelchair and told there was a great chance I would never walk normally again, but I didn't want to accept that," Sergeant Eudy said. "Along with my legs being injured, I hyperextended both of my rotator cuffs. I couldn't do anything by myself and humility does not come easily to me."

When he arrived to brief Moody's soon-to-be senior NCOs, the Airman walked without a hint of injury.

"The reason I give briefings to groups such as this is so I can show and tell what I have done for my Air Force, and hopefully motivate and inspire others," he said. "Although I've been injured, I am valuable as a special operations weatherman in the operational role I am in now and hopefully the service will allow me to continue doing what I love.

"The career field I am in is extremely small; throughout the Air Force, there are only 78 of us, and 12 of those are officers," Sergeant Eudy added. "I was a senior airman at the time and have only recently pinned on staff sergeant, but because my office is so small, I am getting the opportunity to take on the roles of higher ranks. This fits into the Air Force ideal of becoming a well-rounded individual."

He also hopes that SNCOs will give the Airmen under their command the chance to also become well-rounded individuals and perhaps see the full extent of their job.

"I challenge each SNCO to take their Airmen around base and show them how far-reaching what they do is," Sergeant Eudy said. "When I was being presented my accolades after my surgery, there were more than a hundred medical group Airmen there. The individuals from various offices were getting to see me and the end result of what they did in radiology, anesthesiology and other areas."

One technical sergeant says that Sergeant Eudy's story inspired her and that she agrees with his view on Airmen.

"Having him speak at this Professional Military Education course was extremely inspiring," said Tech. Sgt. Susan Smith, 23rd Wing command section superintendent. "Seeing his tremendous level of commitment to the Air Force, even after all he endured, motivated me and helped me realized we should all display commitment at this level. It helped us re-evaluate and address what we should strive to accomplish as we better ourselves."

Sergeant Eudy will face a medical evaluation board at the end of this month and it will be determined then if he will be allowed to continue serving on active duty.

"Although I'm medically ineligible right now to deploy, I hope they'll see that I'm extremely valuable at what I am doing now," he said. "If they tell me to get out, I'll say, 'Thanks for letting me have this experience- I've loved it."


RHK Sends...//

Air Commando L-4010, 2005 ACA HOF

Website Administrator
IP Logged
This member is offline.
Posted 3/7/2010 3:01 AM
Ground Week
Ground Week
Group: Forum Members
Active: 8/27/2010
Posts: 129
Any news on the board result?
IP Logged
This member is offline.
Posted 3/7/2010 5:52 AM
Ground Week
Ground Week
Group: Forum Members
Active: 8/31/2010
Posts: 123
Let me tell you something about SSgt Eudy. HD gave me his contact info because I felt a little weird calling someone up as high as him on the "food chain" with simple questions (something that he quickly dismissed saying that if he doesn't know the info, nobody does). Alex (and other guys in his shop) answered all of the questions that I had and weren't bothered in doing so. We spoke a few times and he was very supportive and professional. After reading a run-down of what he endured and then speaking to him I found it really awesome that he has such a positive outlook. Great guy right there. I've worked medical boards before and the AF as far as I'm concerned would be at a big loss if they medically retire him. I don't know the specifics of his medical status (and it's none of my business) but based on his character alone it would suck to not be on team with him some day.
IP Logged
This member is offline.
Showing page 1 of 1 - 4 messages found
« Next Oldest :: Next Newest »

Powered by InstantForum.NET v3.4
Copyright © 2002, 2004, InstantASP Ltd. All rights reserved.
Training Equipment Location People Links

Lloyd Mitchell Chuck Irby Chuck Irby Tim Blair John Conley Charlie Hine Frank Hall Terry Maroste