Able Seaman Kate Nesbitt, Royal Navy: Nesbitt was awarded the Military Cross for her heroism under fire with 3 Commando in Afghanistan. The MC is the British equivalent of the Silver Star and she is only the second woman to ever be awarded it.

She dressed L/Cpl John List’s neck wound and kept him from losing blood while bullets and rockets flew overhead in Marjah district in Helmand.

Earlier this month, L/Cpl List said no words could describe what Ms Nesbitt had done, but without her action he would not have lived.

Her citation said: “Under fire and under pressure her commitment and courage were inspirational and made the difference between life and death.

“She performed in the highest traditions of her service.”

Kimberly Munley, Ft. Hood Police Department: Munley was one of two police officers who responded to a terrorist attack at Ft. Hood. She engaged the terrorist and was badly wounded in the engagement.

The task on Thursday fell to the petite Ms. Munley, a civilian police officer employed by the Army at Fort Hood. Munley had taken part in intensive active-shooter training during the past year.

One of the first responders, she exited her car and entered the building as shots rang out. She rounded a corner, identified the shooter, and fired four times. He returned fire and hit her at least twice in the legs and once in the arm.

Army Chaplain (Capt.) Rebekah Montgomery, Chaplain of the Year award from the Military Chaplains Association:

After an 18-month tour in Afghanistan, Montgomery returned to Maryland and took on two jobs. One weekend a month, she is the brigade chaplain for the 58th Troop Command, a job that she said keeps her grounded in the “M-day” unit mentality. An M-day unit one in which troops serve one weekend a month and a two-week annual tour each year.

“With my state, that’s where the real nuts-and-bolts mission is,” she said. “I feel like I’m staying in touch and serving at the local level.”

During the week, she focuses on a broader mission at the readiness center, advising high-level officials on spiritual issues.

Spc. Heather Lemanski, New York National Guard: Fought off a rapist in the shower and held him until help arrived.

Upon entering the shower, Lemanski heard someone come into the trailer after her.

“I didn’t hear another shower start, so I called out to see if anyone was in there,” she said. “No one answered.”

With a knife in one hand and a can of pepper spray in the other, Lemanski began checking each shower. Soon she found herself face-to-face with a male Soldier, dressed in his army combat uniform, crouched in another stall.

“I managed to restrain him, and I called out to a sergeant passing by to notify the [military police],” she said.

Sergeant First Class Helen Gillespie, WAC and tuba player: Helen is a new found friend this year. She told us her story, joining the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) to play in the band, and then making the transition to the “new” Army.

From early 1971 until my recent decision to retire I’ve strived to be a valuable part of what I consider the strongest military organization in the world, the US Army. Running into and breaking through brick walls of limited opportunity for women has soured my view of the US Army. However, the benefit I received over the years has strengthened my belief that the Army offers great opportunity and growth to anyone who has the ability and strength to embrace it.

Megan Schlotthauer and her mother Lisa Altoon: This cheerleader needed a change and the Army offered her that change. Mom wasn’t sure, but before it was all settled, Mom had enlisted, too.

She presented the idea to her mother, Lisa Altoon, who wasn’t receptive to the notion of her cheerleader daughter joining the Army.

“I was dead set against it from the beginning,” she said.

Altoon, like many parents, was concerned about the possibility of Megan deploying to a combat zone. That is, until she met her daughter’s recruiter, Army Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Dean of the Fremont, Calif., recruiting station. Dean proved to be a persuasive recruiter.

Jaeda Sichel, honorary Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer: Jada inspired us in 2009 by being unwilling to let her illness determine her life’s boundaries. In early July, we covered Jaeda as she was given the basics of being a Coast Guard rescue swimmer at the Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala. Jaeda’s diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis didn’t slow her down at all and we posted a number of photos of her training. She is attending the University of Colorado at Boulder and is majoring in Aerospace Engineering.

Lance Corporal Sally Clarke, 2nd Battalion the Rifles: The second Brit to appear in this year’s list, Clarke rendered aid to her fellow soldiers under intense enemy fire.

L/Cpl Clarke applied field dressings and a tourniquet, and then waited for the emergency response team to arrive. The medic, who has served in the forces for three years, treated each soldier before helping to move them to the helicopter landing site so that they could be flown to Camp Bastion.

Despite being entitled to get on the flight she refused, insisting she would not leave the rest of the patrol without a medic. She said: “I didn’t feel like my injuries were bad enough to go back to the hospital, particularly as I was the only medic on the ground at the time.

“I couldn’t leave them on their own – I came out here to support the troops on the ground and give them medical care when they need it the most.”

Spc. Amanda Cleveland, Task Force Keystone: Still a teenager, this soldier is a teacher and a medic.

Cleveland is humble about her teaching ability, but is quick to acknowledge the importance of the subject matter.”I really enjoy teaching, but it’s not always easy keeping a student’s attention, because I’m not a dominating person,” said Cleveland. “I just keep reminding myself that what I am teaching these Soldiers will not only affect them, but also the people they may have to save. I may be helping my students save a life!”

Cleveland is the primary instructor of the 28th CAB’s First Aid Refresher Course at Contingency Operating Base Adder which is taught monthly to a rotation of Soldiers. When she is not training, she is receiving clinical experience in her unit’s medical clinic. She takes vital signs, screens patients, performs asthma treatments and even stitches sutures.

Maj. Gina Sabric, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, and the Women Air Force Service Pilots:

It’s been more than 60 years since the Women Air Force Service Pilots or WASP took the skies by storm as the first women in U.S. history trained to fly American military aircraft, overcoming inequality and changing the face of aviation forever. On July 1, these aviation pioneers were recognized by President Barack Obama, who presented the Congressional Gold Medal as long-overdue recognition of the historical “Fly Girls.”

Here at JBB, a 21st-century “Fly Girl,” Maj. Gina Sabric, an F-16 fighter pilot, couldn’t be more pleased with the recognition.

“I think it is amazing that they were presented [with the Congressional Gold Medal],” said Sabric, currently deployed here as the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing flight safety officer from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. “It is definitely well-deserved and probably a little overdue, but it is amazing that they are finally being recognized for their service to our country.

“They are definitely pioneers in aviation and an inspiration to those of us that fly now,” she continued. “We would not be here if it wasn’t for the work that they did before us. They paved the way and opened up doors for the rest of us.”

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates meets with police Sgt. Kimberly Munley at a hospital in Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 10, 2009. Munley, who was a first responder to a shooting at the base’s processing station on Nov. 5, 2009, fired the shots that brought down the shooter responsible for the tragedy. Gates is in the area to attend a memorial ceremony honoring the 13 people who were killed during the shooting. DoD photo by Cherie Cullen.

Emergency response leaders here say many lives were saved by the courageous acts of those who helped the wounded following the horrific shooting attack Nov. 5 at the post deployment readiness center.

They called the actions of Soldiers and first responders a “textbook example” of what should be done in the aftermath of a situation that was anything but ordinary.

The incident, considered the worst to occur on a U.S. military base, left 13 dead and 43 wounded before post police shot the assailant.

The alleged gunman remains under guard at Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Authorities say the gunman, armed with two handguns, fired at least 100 rounds indiscriminately into the crowd of Soldiers gathered for pre-deployment medical screenings.

The violence spilled outside as Soldiers fled, some trying to break windows to escape the carnage. Witnesses say the shooter continued his rampage at an adjacent building, shooting several others before police confronted him.

Investigators are still piecing together information about the alleged assailant to determine the motive behind the shooting.

Safety officials who arrived just moments after the shooting said the number of dead and wounded was shocking. However, exercises conducted in the aftermath of incidents such as Columbine and Virginia Tech helped the response and recovery efforts.

Chuck Medley, a combat veteran who is now the director of the post’s Directorate of Emergency Services, called the combined response to the incident by military and civilian responders “seamless” and “nothing short of awesome.”

From the time he first heard the call “Shots fired,” crackle over the radio, to the time he arrived on scene from his office, a scant few minutes had passed. With him was Fort Hood Police Chief David Ross, a former Army officer and Texas highway patrolman.

Although the gunman was down by then, reports had another shooter barricaded in the processing center, perhaps continuing to hunt victims. A massive manhunt ensued, but the claim proved to be false.

Other police units, including state troopers, were summoned to control traffic surrounding the post.

The immediate focus of Medley and Ross was to eliminate any further direct threat, secure the scene and assess the wounded to summon whatever help was needed.

On their heels was Billy Rhoads, the Fort Hood Fire Department chief, who immediately went to render aid to Kim Munley, one of two post police officers credited with stopping the shooter.

In separate interviews, all three men described the situation as “controlled chaos.”

“Even with so many wounded, we were still able to take control of the scene rather quickly,” Medley said.

Upon arrival at the scene of the massacre, Medley said, he methodically began to consider what resources were available in surrounding communities. He quickly called police chiefs in Killeen, Harker Heights, Copperas Cove, Lampasas and Temple, who dispatched units to patrol and control traffic. Without their assistance, the conduct of the response effort would have been more difficult, he said.

Simultaneously, Medley relayed updates to post commanders. Poised, Ross directed subordinates to accomplish various tasks, including establishing a perimeter around the scene of the shooting to preserve evidence.

Equally significant were the actions of Soldiers who, not surprisingly, immediately sprang into action to help their buddies, Medley said.

Courage was a common virtue, he added. “Many Soldiers exhibited total disregard for their own safety to take care of their comrades. Without fail, Soldiers did what they’re expected to do.”

Soldiers quickly began treatment as they have been trained, preventing blood loss by fashioning bandages from pieces of their own uniforms. “If not for them, we’d have had a lot more fatalities,” Rhoads said. The wounded were grouped according to the severity of their injuries.

Medevac helicopters made continuous loops to speed the injured to area hospitals. As of Tuesday, 15 victims remained in critical condition; six are in intensive care. Nine others remained hospitalized, but 27 had been treated and released.

Through their exceptional efforts, the police, fire and emergency medical technicians saved lives, Medley said.

Area fire departments also dispatched units to the post to replace post personnel who responded to the scene, ensuring coverage of all responsibilities.

The relationship between post emergency forces and first responders in the surrounding communities are forged in brotherhood, Rhoads said. “We all work together. If anyone needs anything, all it takes is a phone call.”

The mutual sharing of assets and co-training is normal in the emergency response field and the actions of responders here – fire, police and EMS – are already being studied and lauded.

“Our mass casualty exercises were validated that day,” Ross said. “We train to fight … and people made critical decisions that saved lives.”

Rhoads agreed. “We plan for the worst-case scenarios. Unfortunately, this one actually happened,” he said. “All the hours of training was put to use. Our folks performed flawlessly.”

DVIDS
Story by Andrew Evans

Kimberly Munley, Cape Fear Community College, 1999

Ten years ago, Kimberly Munley was an aspiring law enforcement officer and enrolled in the Basic Law Enforcement program at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, NC program in August 1999.

Instructor Ricky Simpson remembers her as an “excellent student who was quick to smile and tackle any assignment.”

“She was small in stature, but very large in heart and determination. She would not be denied the opportunity to work in law enforcement. No matter the task – driving, defense tactics, building searches, firearms or the 30 other areas of study she was up to the task,” Simpson said.

CFCC’s Basic Law Enforcement class was approximately 17 weeks at that time. After passing the N.C. State certification examination in December 1999, she was certified to work in N.C. She was hired by the Wrightsville Beach Police Department and did well.

Cape Fear Community College

Officer Kimberly Munley, the hero of Fort Hood

Reviews in the aftermath of the shootings at Virginia Tech, where 32 died, found that first responders’ decision to be careful and wait for backup probably cost lives as that gunman moved unchecked from classroom to classroom as law enforcement massed outside.

Those findings had found their way to Fort Hood’s Special Reaction Team, which had practiced an entirely new protocol for at least a year before Thursday afternoon’s rampage here, in which 13 were killed and at least 28 wounded.

“The lesson from Virginia Tech was, don’t wait for backup but move to the target and eliminate the shooter,” says Chuck Medley, chief of Fort Hood’s emergency services. “It requires courage and it requires skill.”

The task on Thursday fell to the petite Ms. Munley, a civilian police officer employed by the Army at Fort Hood. Munley had taken part in intensive active-shooter training during the past year.

One of the first responders, she exited her car and entered the building as shots rang out. She rounded a corner, identified the shooter, and fired four times. He returned fire and hit her at least twice in the legs and once in the arm. She underwent surgery Friday but is said to be in good condition. It’s unclear how many other responders were present and firing, but Munley’s shots are believed to be the ones that stopped the alleged gunman, Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

“She walked up and engaged him,” said Fort Hood commander Lt. Gen. Bob Cone, according to an Associated Press report. Her training taught her that “if you act aggressively to take out a shooter, you will have less fatalities,” he said.

Munley is in stable condition and “very upbeat,” says Medley. “I’ve never seen a person with that kind of injury so upbeat, in fact.”

CSMonitor

When Wrightsville Beach police detective Shaun Appler pulled over a suspected drunk driver in 2000, he couldn’t have foreseen the dangerous situation that was about to ensue.

Thankfully Appler’s partner, Kimberly Munley, was there to save his life.

While Appler was talking to the driver of the vehicle, a third man approached the detective and interjected himself into the discussion. Appler said he asked the third man to leave, when he didn’t, the detective tried to arrest him.

A struggle ensued, and the two men eventually rolled down a hill. When they came to a stop, the man was straddling Appler, reaching for the handgun holstered on the detective’s belt.

Suddenly, Munley appeared, leaped onto the man’s back, yanked him off of Appler and forced him into handcuffs.

At that point, Appler said, he heard the theme to Mighty Mouse playing over in his head: “Here I come to save the day.”

From that time forward, Appler called Munley: “Mighty Mouse.”

Lumina News

Munley, described by neighbor Brooke Beato, as “very petite, with long blonde hair and a strong personality,” was credited by base officials with preventing further carnage by aggressively engaging Hasan as he shot at her. She rounded a corner, took aim at Hasan and brought him down, officials said. “It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer,” base commander Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said. [snip]

Munley, who worked as a police officer for five years in North Carolina where her father, Dennis Barbour, once served as mayor of Carolina Beach, is a talented shooter and member of the base’s Special Reaction Team which trains for the possibility of events like Thursday’s shooting rampage.

Time

The police officer who ended the Fort Hood massacre by shooting the suspect is known as the enforcer on her street, a “tough woman” who patrolled her neighborhood and once stopped burglars at her house.

“If you come in, I’m going to shoot,” Kimberly Munley told the would-be intruders last year.

It was Munley who arrived quickly Thursday at the scene of the worst massacre at an Army base in U.S. history, where 13 people were killed. She confronted the alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, and shot him four times. Munley was wounded in the exchange.

That’s just like her, friends and family say.

“I just felt more protected knowing she was on my street,” neighbor Erin Houston said.

Munley, the mother of a 3-year-old girl, lives on a street where a lot of homes are vacant because so many residents are deployed at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We sleep a lot safer knowing she’s on the block,” said Sgt. William Barbrow, another neighbor.

CNN

Officer Kimberly Munley, the hero of Fort Hood

Officer Kimberly Munley of the Fort Hood Police Department is a “trained, active first responder” who acted quickly after she “just happened to encounter the gunman,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, Fort Hood’s commanding general.

Cone said the officer and her partner responded “very quickly” to the scene of the shootings — reportedly in around three minutes.

Munley “just happened very fortunately to be very close to the incident scene,” Cone told CNN’s “American Morning.”

He said she shot the gunman four times and was wounded herself in an exchange of gunfire with him.

“Really a pretty amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer,” Cone said.

CNN