KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- When a major bus accident unfolded on a highway in Mississippi's Warren County in the early hours on Sept. 1 resulting in a mass casualty incident, paramedics were some of the first responders on the scene.
One of those paramedics, Air Force Reserve Citizen Airman Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Cooper, 403rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, received mass casualty training which provided a solid foundation for the skills utilized that day.
“Our callout that night was different from the reality of the actual scene,” said Cooper, a Vicksburg Fire Department paramedic. “The call was a box truck that had overturned on the highway, but when we got there and saw the overturned bus, we knew we were going to need more help.”
The accident occurred on a busy interstate, involving a passenger bus that flipped over on its side. Within minutes, paramedics arrived, faced with the overwhelming task of triaging, treating, and transporting many injured individuals.
For paramedic Cooper, this type of high-stress, chaotic environment is not unfamiliar. Military personnel, especially those with medical training, are accustomed to working in challenging conditions, often with limited resources and time constraints. Their training in triage, quick decision-making, and leadership equips them for situations like mass casualty incidents in the civilian world.
“After realizing that we were dealing with a MCI, we immediately requested mutual aid assistance to transport patients,” said Cooper. “My job on the scene was to enter the overturned bus and conduct triage -- assessing patients' conditions to determine the order of treatment.”
Military medical technicians are trained to prioritize care based on severity, often in combat zones where decisions can mean life or death. This experience directly translates into civilian paramedicine, where time is of the essence, and mistakes can have serious consequences.
“During this incident, my military background helped with quickly establishing triage zones,” Cooper said. “By doing this we made sure that the critically injured victims received immediate attention, with some patients needing helicopter transport or immediate ground transfer to a hospital, while also getting those with less severe injuries stabilized and monitored for transport.”
“Military medics are often trained in tactical combat casualty care, which teaches them how to treat patients in unpredictable, dangerous environments,” said Senior Master Sgt. Ingrid Anderson, 403rd ASTS nursing services flight chief.
While civilian paramedics may not face the same risks, the ability to adapt to changing circumstances is crucial. In the case of the bus accident, conditions on the ground were constantly evolving, especially when additional injuries were discovered, and new hazards emerged.
Cooper said that being a paramedic with military experience helped him adapt his way of working the scene, whether it was triaging, moving patients away or altering treatment plans as new information became available. This adaptability helped prevent further casualties and ensured that care continued smoothly.
“With this bus accident, I realized my military training in mass casualty exercises was important,” said Cooper. “As much as we train, you never know when you’re going to utilize that training, but this training really helped, I didn’t have to think, because my training kicked in, and I just reacted.”
Military members train for multiple scenarios focusing on different types of incidents, from vehicle to aircraft accidents even to bombing incidents. The training focuses on what could happen, the kinds of injuries that can occur, and determining what course of action and treatment to provide the best possible outcome, while trying to save everyone that can be saved.
“With Cooper being a paramedic in his civilian career, his passion about his role has rolled over into what he does as a military medical technician, which includes his involvement in training,” said Anderson.
Cooper said that even though his military and civilian roles may differ based on whether he is at home or deployed, the skills he learned during his training in the Reserve are directly applicable to emergency medical services.
“Training as if in a deployed environment gives a unique perspective, enabling me to remain calm, collected, and effective even in the most chaotic of situations,” said Cooper.
For paramedics with military backgrounds, like Cooper, military service not only prepared them for the battlefield but also for the crucial moments when civilian lives are on the line.
“Cooper’s military training provided invaluable preparation in his civilian role, as the bus accident and subsequent mass casualty response demonstrated,” said Anderson. “When he reached out to tell me about the incident, he explained his role on scene, which proved his ability to make quick and decisive actions which can mean the difference between life and death.”