Veterans Among Heroes in Las Vegas

Photo credits to: Prayitno (Flicker) License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

Teaching psychology in college opens a lot of doors for conversation. I remember one in particular. After the events in Las Vegas (2017 shooting) we discussed the aftermath. One of my students had two friends shot at the concert in Las Vegas. As I talked to her you could see the shock in her eyes and the concern for her friends. In Southern California Las Vegas is one of the key places to go for entertainment. Many people in California like to visit "sin city" and let their hair down and have a good time. Las Vegas is known worldwide for its ability to put on good shows, and handle huge crowds that come for the gambling and entertainment. This was not the case a few weeks back when over 2200 descended upon Las Vegas to see a country music festival. These 2200 + concert goers are now cemented in history for being a part of the largest mass shooting in recent American history. No city could prepare for the events of October 1, 2017, not even Las Vegas. It was helpful to the concert goers and Las Vegas that there were a lot of veterans and off duty first responders in attendance or the situation would have been a lot worse.

Veterans continue to be a staple of helping during a crisis, and Las Vegas was another example. According to multiple witnesses some veterans stepped up showed their ability to act heroically and do what it takes to get the job done. During the terrorist attack at the Las Vegas music festival veterans sprang into action and provided help where they could, at times risking their own lives, or the possibility of going to jail. The horrific events in Las Vegas continues to remind us that there's evil everywhere, even in the United States. There were 2 veterans among the 58 killed, one was a veteran who survived a tour in Afghanistan. He is not the first, and probably will not be the last veteran to survive a war to be shot and killed at home. It is bothersome when someone survives a war and is killed at home where he should have been safe.       

All veterans, not just war veterans are trained in first aid and how to handle a stressful situation. Putting skills that were taught in the military to good use, more than likely saved a lot of lives. Veterans and first responders understood the need to provide help quickly and they did in mass. Once the veterans and first responders realized the noise from the shots were not a part of the show, and were actual bullets, they sprang into action, helping where they could. Veterans, first responders, and regular citizens started giving first aid while the shots were still being fired, putting themselves at risk, some people even lost their lives rendering aid to the fallen.   

Knowing what to do and how to handle stressful situations is what saved lives during the attack. Also doing what you “have to do” even if it is illegal, also saved multiple lives. The Veteran who “stole” the truck in Las Vegas to take the injured to the hospital is an example of how veterans think outside the box to make things happen. He took a chance that stealing a truck for a good reason would be ok with the owner, he was right. Thinking quick is a key to saving lives and many veterans have been in stressful situations and know what to do and how to respond when under attack.  

Continuing to serve the community is what many veterans do. Whether it is becoming a volunteer, first responder, police officer, nurse, doctor, or mental health clinician like myself it is done to help the public. If you look at any of the tragic situations that happens, there’s usually a veteran there to help, putting their skills to work and their lives on the line. When a crisis occurs, I can only hope there are veterans around to help, bringing their training to the forefront and saving lives. Veterans are trained to handle stressful situations and usually step up to the challenge when faced with a stressful life changing event. I would like to give a shout out to those veterans and first responders who continue to serve. By acting on their training, skills, and not running from stressful situations, makes us all proud to be veterans.

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.