Page 1 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, March 2 2018
P. 1
We build the future of airpower March 2018
Vol. 18, No. 3
Luke Air Force Base Living legend
In its 77th year
PRESENTS
visits Luke …
March 17 - 18 Retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, 95, visited Luke Air Force Staff Sgt. Jensen Stidham
Base Feb. 13. The flying ace graduated flight training March
Countdown 10, 1943, and received his wings while stationed at Luke Field.
As part of Yeager’s 95th birthday celebration, he participated
16 Days in telling stories to Luke Thunderbolts about his Air Force
career and time spent at Luke in the 1940s. He gained fame as
Headliners the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. This his-
toric flight in the Bell X-1 aircraft took place Oct. 14, 1947, at
• U.S. Navy Blue Angels Muroc Dry Air Field, now Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Demonstration Team
• U.S. Air Force Academy Wings of Blue Retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager
Other performers Luke medic administers life-saving aid after car crash
• U.S. Air Force Photo and story by “It was a weird accident because one Rigby had been involved with the medical
Heritage Flight - F-35A Team Senior Airman car had turned left a little bit too short,†professions since he was a child. He’s been
RIDGE SHAN Rigby said. “I asked if anybody needed any continually CPR certified since he was 9
• Air Combat Command medical attention, and someone screamed years old, the by-product of a lifelong jour-
A-10 Thunderbolt Demonstration Team 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs the driver of the car which caused the ac- ney, which included first-aid training in the
• U.S. Marine Corps Harrier Demonstration cident was unconscious and foaming at the Cub and Boy Scouts, an Emergency Medical
On Jan. 16, 2018, Staff Sgt. Geoffrey mouth.†Technician certification in pursuit of an
• Buck Roetman Aerobatic pilot in a Rigby, 56th Medical Operations Squadron early firefighting career and his military
Pitts S-2S Special physical therapy technician, was sitting Rigby moved in to assess the situation. medical training as part of the Air Force.
in his truck waiting on a red light at the The driver was a large man, roughly 300
• Dan Buchanan – glider intersection of Dysart and Indian School pounds in Rigby’s estimation. He was Until now though, his emergency ex-
• Gary Rower – Stearman roads in Glendale. leaned over the center console dripping perience had consisted solely of training,
saliva from his mouth and, though unre- and his years of medical work had been
• Brad Wursten – MXS A car suddenly veered into the intersec- sponsive, had rapid, twitching eye move- performed in clinics on conscious patients.
• Bill Stein – Eduge 540 tion and struck oncoming traffic. Rigby im- ment. It was clear to Rigby the man was
mediately pulled to the side, turned on his experiencing a seizure. “One of the things they taught me in EMT
• Greg Coyler – T-33 hazard lights and got out to offer assistance. school is that if a patient is snoring, their
• Red Tail – P-51 Rigby quickly ran back to his truck to airway is obstructed,†Rigby said. “In the
retrieve his first-aid kit. He put on a pair case of a car accident, you always assume
• John Klatt Air Shows of gloves and grabbed some sterile gauze. there is some sort of cervical spine trauma
• Bob Freeman – Extra 330 Another individual at the scene had bro- or neck trauma.â€
• Tora Tora Tora – Zeros and bombers ken the seizing man’s window and opened
• Kirby Chamblis – Extra 540 the door. Rigby’s training reaffirmed him the tra-
• U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight – F-35A ditional CPR airway-opening chin lift tech-
“I went into the front seat and the guy nique would be potentially dangerous and
• Desert Rats – CJ-5 was still leaning over the center console,†could exacerbate an already broken neck.
Rigby said. “He was unconsciously snorting
Military Statics and his breathing was labored.†“Instead, I held his head to stabilize his
spine,†Rigby said. “At the same time, I
• AH-64 • A-10 Thunderbolt II Staff Sgt. Geoffrey Rigby, 56th Medical pushed my fingers behind his jaw and per-
• B-1B Lancer • C-130J Super Hercules Operations Squadron physical therapy formed a jaw thrust to open his airway. As
technician, poses Feb. 6 in the physical soon as I did that, he stopped snoring and
• C-17 • C-5 • F-15C • F-15E therapy clinic at Luke Air Force Base. his breathing became normal.â€
• F-16 (x4, 54 FG) Rigby used his lifelong medical knowl-
edge and training to apply life-saving Although the man was unconscious,
• F-16 (69th Fighter Squadron) techniques to a car accident victim on Rigby held his airway open and kept the
• F-16 (Arizona Air National Guard) Jan. 16 in Glendale. man’s head stable for the five or so minutes
• F-22 • F-35 (Japan) • KC-135 See medic, Page 5
• KC-135 (AZ ANG) • KC-46
• OA-X (Light attack winner) Go to www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb
• T-38 • T-6 • UAV display or use your smartphone to connect to our website!
• UH-60 • UH-72
Civilian statics
• Cessna 182 - Civil Air Patrol
• Cessna 206 - Civil Air Patrol
For information on what you can bring
on base, see Page 5
For more information on the air show,
go to www.luke.af.mil/2018-Luke-Days/
