America's Army Training Helps Save Accident Victims

Paxton Galvanek credits America's Army for giving him the mad lifesaving skillz he demonstrated when he witnessed a horrific traffic accident on the I-40 in North Carolina.

After seeing an SUV go out of control and roll about five times, Galvanek stopped and ran across the highway to the crashed vehicle while his wife called 911. Two people were inside the SUV; Galvanek removed the passenger and got him away from the vehicle, and after assessing him as having only minor cuts and injuries, instructed him to remain clear while he retrieved the driver. The driver was much more seriously injured, with two lost fingers, head trauma and profuse bleeding; employing the knowledge he had gained from America's Army, Galvanek located a towel, put pressure on the victim's hand and instructed him to sit down while keeping his hand elevated over his head and pressure applied to the wound. Examining the head wound further, he determined the cut was not as serious as the injured hand.

Approximately five minutes later, an Army soldier with medical training arrived and took over the situation, telling Galvanek he had done a "great job" and that there was nothing more he could do until the paramedics arrived. With the situation in hand, Galvanek left the scene of the accident and continued on his way.

"I have received no prior medical training and can honestly say that because of the training and presentations within America's Army, I was able to help and possibly save the injured men," Galvanek wrote in a letter to the America's Army team. "As I look back on the events of that day, the training that I received in the America's Army videogame keeps coming to mind."

In order to qualify as a combat medic in the game, players must take "virtual medical training classes" similar to those taught to real U.S. soldiers, learning to evaluate and prioritize casualties, control bleeding, recognize and treat shock and administer aid when victims are not breathing.

"Because of the training he received in America's Army's virtual classroom, Mr. Galvanek had mastered the basics of first aid and had the confidence to take appropriate action when others might do nothing. He took the initiative to assess the situation, prioritize actions and apply the correct procedures," said America's Army Project Director Colonel Casey Wardynski. "Paxton is a true hero. We are pleased to have played a role in providing the lifesaving training that he employed so successfully at the scene."

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Wow. Take that, Jack Thompson.

AA may be a very blunt and questionable recruiting tool, but this is truly respectable.

Although i would be too afraid and sceptic to apply videogame knowledge to real life situations, especially if the life (or wellbeing) of another person depends on it

See kids, only playing in hardcore mode will give you the skillz to win in real life.

Arbre:
See kids, only playing in hardcore mode will give you the skillz to win in real life.

Ditto Call of Duty 4. Unless it's what you were referring to in the first place.

Basic first aid is really very simple. Just a half dussin sentances to remember and follow to save a life.

Hachura:
Wow. Take that, Jack Thompson.

Stole the words right out of my keyboard.

Videogames save lives!

I heard of this Norweigan kid in the news who whe confronted with an angry moose "feighted death" to survive, witch he had learned from his hunter in World of Warcraft

In all likelihood the attention-seeker-who-must-not-be-named would just turn it around and say, "see, vidja games are training simulators!"
Still wouldn't occur to him that knowing how to do something, and the desire and will to do it are entirely different.

Anyway, good on Paxton. Society needs more people who don't stand idly by and wait for the "proper authorities" to arrive, by which time it may be too late. That's not to denounce the "proper authorities" or say they aren't necessary and beneficial; they just aren't always fast enough.

Arbre:
See kids, only playing in hardcore mode will give you the skillz to win in real life.

yay for CoD4 and my favourite gametype.

This is great. Take that you crazy liberals.

... believing that video games can teach you things like first aid and how to use it in such situations may include that they can teach you how to kill! besides: have you ever heard of the veterans that risked their asses in Iraq, who demonstrated against this game!? well, their point is, that war is not a game and promoting war by using a game as a recruiting tool to gain kids (which love games) as soldiers for wars which are (mostly) wars of aggression, is simply wrong!

i have tons of respect for this guy and it's an honorable thing what he did! but believing that this game makes you a hero is just like believing that other games make you a killing machine!

i don't think that video games have a negative effect on kids at all, as long as they live in a friendly society, environment and family!

i'm sorry for false grammar! i'm a foreigner!

heh, so the hobby's good for something after all.

VictorZangief:
... believing that video games can teach you things like first aid and how to use it in such situations may include that they can teach you how to kill! besides: have you ever heard of the veterans that risked their asses in Iraq, who demonstrated against this game!? well, their point is, that war is not a game and promoting war by using a game as a recruiting tool to gain kids (which love games) as soldiers for wars which are (mostly) wars of aggression, is simply wrong!

i have tons of respect for this guy and it's an honorable thing what he did! but believing that this game makes you a hero is just like believing that other games make you a killing machine!

i don't think that video games have a negative effect on kids at all, as long as they live in a friendly society, environment and family!

i'm sorry for false grammar! i'm a foreigner!

Acquiring working knowledge of CPR is much easier through "slides" than learning to aim with a real gun. Knowing when, where and how to apply pressure to a wound can be communicated quite clearly through a simple screen, and doesn't require a lot of interpretation or skill to perform. You just need to know the basics.

Firing a gun on the other hand can never be taught over a computer screen, for the simple reason of competitiveness in games (even with lightguns, a mouse is preferable for better control), and because it's nothing like shooting with a real gun. You don't have recoil, for example. You don't get taught on how a gun is reloaded, or how it works, or when it doesn't work. You never get taught the real life physics of bullet travel paths, involding gravity, wind and curvature of the planet. At least, not in games. Sniper rifles for example are a completely different entity in real life than they are portrayed as in games... It's worlds apart.

This game taught people the basics of CPR, people who've never bothered to learn it otherwise. That is something no one can overlook, and something that has probably already saved more lives than the one reported here.