Taji rocket attack: NZ soldiers honoured for bravery
WELLINGTON: Three New Zealand Army personnel faced with widespread carnage after almost 30 rockets exploded at an Iraqi military camp have been recognised for their bravery in saving lives of injured coalition soldiers.
Corporal Charles Munns has been awarded the Defence Meritorious Service Medal, and Corporal Jessica HealeyRender and Private Maddison Van Sitter have both received a Chief of Defence Force Commendation for their fast response in the rocket attack on the Taji Military Camp in March last year.
The camp came under fire about 7.30pm on March 11, when nearly 30 rockets rained down on over a square kilometre, leaving mass casualties, large fires and unexploded devices.
Two Americans and a British medic died in the attack, and 17 were injured.
All New Zealanders stationed at the camp north of Baghdad escaped injury.
Cpl Munns, a section commander in the quick reaction force of the task group in Iraq and part of the team responsible for maintaining the security of the camp, said he raced to a bunker making sure his section was safe, before venturing out into the camp.
His team came across casualties almost immediately.
‘‘We found three wounded soldiers, two in a rather bad way and the third had taken a lot of shrapnel and was in a lot of shock.
‘‘We treated all three and had to begin CPR on one but eventually it was no use as his injuries were too much.’’
He and his section spent the rest of the night clearing areas where power lines were sparking, buildings were burning and vehicles were leaking petrol.
They also marked where unexploded rockets lay on the ground.
‘‘At first you don’t think it’s real because you do so much training but within seconds you realise what is happening,’’ he said.
Cpl HealeyRender, a medic, was one of the first responders to reach many critically injured casualties.
‘‘We heard the rockets just after we had finished a step class in the gym.
‘‘I found my evacuation team and we drove down the road where we soon found our first casualty,’’ she said.
‘‘This is when I realised the true nature of the situation.
There were multiple traumatic injuries.
‘‘I’ll admit it was scary — you never think there will be a day when you are literally running for your life.’’
The citation for her commendation said there was no doubt her actions saved lives.
‘‘Her medical skills and decisionmaking demonstrated an exceptional level of professionalism during a complex and challenging situation,’’ the citation read.
When the rocket fire stopped, Pte Van Sitter raced to one of the main incident sites, where he noticed a distressed coalition soldier performing CPR on a critically injured colleague.
Pte Van Sitter quickly took over and spent the next six minutes fighting to save the soldier’s life.
‘‘When medical staff confirmed that the individual had died, he refocused his efforts on ensuring that the deceased service person was afforded privacy and as much dignity in death as the situation would allow, covering the body and ensuring that onlookers were kept away,’’ his citation read.
‘‘In his actions after the rocket attack Pte Van Sitter showed maturity and composure beyond his years, and demonstrated an exceptional level of professional skill as he carried out his duties in a traumatic situation.’’
Pte Van Sitter said the experience ‘‘was far from what I’d ever expect to deal with but I’m just glad that we all were able to do what was needed under the circumstances’’. — The New Zealand Herald