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Expeditionary Center students from McGuire save a life

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Public Affairs
FORT DIX, N.J. --  Staff Sgt. Milton Cobo and Senior Airman Nestor Rivas went to the do some studying with their classmates and enjoy an evening by the hotel pool. The last thing they expected was to be saving someone from drowning on the deep end of the pool.

On July 30, Sergeant Cobo and Airman Rivas, both security forces Airmen with the 108th Security Forces Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., went to study class material with fellow students in the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's Contingency Response Mission Orientation Course at a hotel in Bordentown, N.J. Just after 6 p.m., a frightened call came from a concerned spouse.

"We were there as part of a study group," Sergeant Cobo said. "We were sitting in the corner near the pool when we heard a woman yell, 'Help! Help!' At first it didn't sound like a frantic yell, but this all happened in seconds so we responded."

Sergeant Cobo said he and Airman Rivas along with others looked and saw the woman's husband in the water and looking like he was drowning. Their response was then immediate.

"I jumped in and Nestor followed," Sergeant Cobo said. "I got there first and when I got to him he was kind of drowning me too. I got down under the water and pushed up on him while Nestor pulled him toward the shallow end of the pool.

"The man was at the shallow end of the pool when he was still panicking and kicking and punching," Sergeant Cobo said. "It was at this point that Nestor said, 'You can stand up now.'"

"When this all started, I was just sitting there looking at my books," Airman Rivas said. "When we jumped in, Sergeant Cobo was pushing him up on his left knee and I pulled him by the waist to the shallow area. What I found amazing after the man stood up in the shallow area was that he was nearly two feet taller than me. We were both saying, 'Wow!'"

After the incident was done, Airman Rivas said the man's spouse came to them several times and said, "Thank you." Meanwhile, the man who nearly drowned sat down for what Airman Rivas said was "a long time."

"I think it was stunned silence," Airman Rivas said. "When he and his family went back in he did wave and say 'thank you.' I think he may have been embarrassed, but I do know he was happy nothing worse happened."

Earlier this year, Sergeant Cobo and Airman Rivas returned from a deployment to Iraq where, during the whole time they were there, they didn't have to save a life in this respect. Their participation in the CRMOC is in preparation for the eventual stand up of the first Air National Guard contingency response group -- the 108th CRG -- at McGuire. However, like they both said, it's sometimes a matter of being "in the right place at the right time."

"It was totally unexpected -- a total adrenaline rush," Sergeant Cobo said. "It was scary in the beginning because I've done this before, but not to this extent. The first thing I thought about after we finished was the man's two young daughters who were also in the pool. I can only imagine what could have happened if we weren't there and how devastating that would have been to those two girls."

Airman Rivas said he found out a day later the family was retired military, but neither he nor Sergeant Cobo ever learned their names. He was just glad no one got hurt.

"It's one of those things you can feel good about and know that you helped someone," Airman Rivas said. "When someone calls for help, you respond. As security forces members, that's what we know to do."

Sergeant Cobo said it also brings to the forefront the importance of knowing your limitations.

"He was probably swimming where he shouldn't have been because he didn't know how to swim," Sergeant Cobo said. "I think he may now consider getting swimming lessons so it doesn't happen again. That aside, I'm just happy we were there to help."