Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll visited Fort Stewart, GA, to pin medals on the six soldiers credited with stopping the shooting Wednesday and keeping the casualty toll from going higher. As RedState reported Wednesday, there was an "active shooter" event at Fort Stewart. A soldier opened fire on comrades with a personal handgun, wounding five. Two of the five remain hospitalized, and all are expected to make a full recovery. The shooter was a 28-year-old sergeant named Quornelius Radford. He is in custody.
This morning, Secretary Driscoll made what looked like a short-notice visit to Fort Stewart to speak with the wounded soldiers and their families and to decorate the six soldiers who acted to end the incident and to save lives.
READ:
Breaking: Lockdown at Fort Stewart, GA - Report of Active Shooter (Updated) – RedState
Update: Fort Stewart Gunman Identified, Other Background Details Released – RedState
The awardees were: 1SG Joshua Arnold, MSG Justin Thomas, SSG Melissa Taylor, SSG Robert Pacheco, SGT Eve Rodarte, and SGT Aaron Turner. MSG Thomas and SGT Turner were decorated for disarming and subduing the attacker. The other four were cited for rendering immediate life-saving steps and stabilizing the victims for transportation. Keep in mind that this was all done organically, without anyone shouting orders. They did it because it was what they expected of themselves.
I say Driscoll's visit was short-notice because you'll note that SSG Pacheco had to be retrieved from physical training to receive his award.
This is SGT Turner recounting how he disarmed the shooter.
The decision by Secretary Driscoll to travel to Fort Stewart will not go unnoticed by the soldiers. His decision to honor both the guys who took down the shooter and the soldiers rendering aid is a great touch. Personally, I think Thomas and Turner deserved a higher award, the Soldier's Medal, but that is neither here nor there. Most noncommissioned officers will only get a Meritorious Service Medal at retirement.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is trying to revitalize the civilian chain of command in the military, and having the Secretary of the Army present these awards, rather than delegating it to the division commander, sends a clear message about who is in charge and watching day-to-day Army operations. During my service, I couldn't have picked the Secretary of the Army out of a two-man lineup. There is definitely different civilian leadership in today's Pentagon.
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