STAFF SGT. JAMES R. GILLIARD
F Company, 1st Battalion,
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
Fort Campbell, Kentucky
It’s always sad when a Soldier survives combat only to be killed in a preventable accident once they return home. My friend, John, was barely 20 years old when it happened to him. He was just trying to have a little fun. Life is sometimes cruel.
I’d known John since advanced individual training at Fort Eustis, Virginia. He was a very friendly Soldier and so full of life. He liked everyone and everyone liked him. John always had a smile on his face no matter what was going on around him. He also was a good maintainer and crew chief — an up-and-coming star in the company. John was someone you could always depend on to do the right thing, which was why I was heartbroken when I heard how he died.
While John was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom, he’d decided he was going to buy an all-terrain vehicle when he got home. A friend told him he could store it at his house and ride it around his field whenever he wanted. John returned from his deployment on a Friday and bought an ATV the following day. Because he had little to no experience on an ATV, he didn’t know what personal protective equipment he needed to ride safely, so he did not buy any. That would be a fateful decision.
John and his friend loaded the ATV onto a trailer, filled the gas tank and went back to the house. After his friend showed him how to start the ATV and change gears, John jumped on his new purchase for a ride. At first, he took it slow and easy. Once he got the hang of it, though, he started pushing the limits and taking corners faster and faster.
The longer John rode, the more his confidence grew. As he rounded another corner, he was traveling too fast and lost control of the ATV. He overcorrected as he tried to regain control and struck a pole that was sticking about 2 feet out of the ground. John was thrown over the handlebars and headfirst into an oak tree about 10 feet away. His friend could only watch in horror.
John’s friend immediately called 911 and then started performing combat lifesaving techniques. John was unresponsive and barely breathing. He had cracked his skull, severely damaged his spine and broken his neck. Although the paramedics did all they could to save him, John died on his way to the hospital. He had been home from combat just one day.
So how could this accident have been prevented? First and foremost, John should have purchased and worn the proper riding gear. There is no substitute for good PPE. John also should have taken the time to familiarize himself with the ATV’s capabilities before getting fast and furious on it. An ATV training course would have provided him with the skills he needed to be a safe rider.
John’s friend also could have helped prevent this accident by speaking up when his buddy began riding recklessly. He knew John had very little experience operating an ATV at any speed, yet offered his field for his friend to use as test track.
And what about John’s supervisors? Could they have prevented this accident? Did they even know he was going to buy an ATV? As leaders and supervisors, we are responsible for getting to know our Soldiers and teaching them to do the right thing both on and off duty. Maybe one of them could have steered John in the right direction.
As Soldiers, we live very dangerous lives. But to die in an accident that was so easily preventable is tragic. John was a good friend and Soldier and will be missed by his family, friends and all those who served with him. We must learn from his mistakes and not follow the same path.