Chris Swales

[skreamer 1]

Came across this article of a BASE jumper who got wounded in Iraq. By all accounts he acquitted himself really well.

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/11931311.htm

He comes across as really humble in the interview. Did a search and couldn't find mention of him in the forums. Anyone who knows him please pass along my hopes for a speedy, full recovery.

Hope he makes it back to an exit point soon!
Will

FULL TEXT :

"Courage under fire

By Lara Brenckle

[email protected]


CENTRE HALL -- In the alternate reality that is Iraq, Army Spc. Christopher Swales knew everything was OK if he could hear bullets zinging and guns firing as he patrolled the northern city of Mosul.

"It's when you don't hear it that you worry," Swales said.

The bullet that pierced his leg during an insurgent attack that thundered around him one March day was silent.

It didn't even hurt, Swales said. He looked down in time to see his left leg split open. "Oh, that's not good," he thought.

The 29-year-old from Centre Hall has swiftly rebounded from being a critically injured patient with a severed artery to a cheerful, upbeat man just happy to be home in his mother's recliner.

His injury earned him a ticket home, and his actions under fire may earn him medals and accolades from his superiors.

But Swales doesn't consider what he did unusual. He's just an average soldier, he said, who joined the Army for the adventure and a chance to make this world a better place.

There are many others whose names aren't on lists for commendation but who deserve them more than he does, he said.

"Whenever I was in a firefight, I never fired to protect myself," he said. "It was always about the other people."

A life of adventure

Swales, by his own account, has always sought out the next big adventure.

He went to Lock Haven University for about two years but wound up leaving to study with a world-renowned chef.

An avid snowboarder, Swales tore up the trails at Tussey Mountain, once dislocating his hip in the process. After a few months of healing, he was back on his board.

He journeyed to Colorado, flew planes with his buddies around the country and discovered BASE jumping in Utah. The almost-suicidal sport involves jumping from high points, such as bridges, cliffs, buildings or antennae, and deploying a parachute.

Eventually, Swales said, he felt called to challenge himself to go beyond his own desires.

The Army, he said, seemed a perfect fit, and the infantry even more so because "It's really the only hands-on job in the military. You're with the people day in and day out."

After joining in November 2003, he was placed with the 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, based out of Fort Lewis, Wash.

The division was eventually deployed for a yearlong tour of duty in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city.

Swales was part of Task Force Freedom, which was charged with managing that sector of Iraq. He was part of the Stryker Brigade, operating in armored "Stryker" vehicles.

His first impressions of the region were filled with wonder.

After all, he said, this is the place where most scientists and religious leaders say human life began.

"It definitely had its beauty," he said, remembering ancient ruins and squads of children playing soccer in yards. "And it had the not-so-happy side of Iraq."

Swales was selected by his sergeant to carry his unit's SAW (squad automatic weapon), a position of trust in that his main task was to protect his squad members.

The Stryker Brigade conducted routine and random sweeps of homes and vehicles. There also were missions to eliminate certain targets or insurgents.

The Iraqi insurgents, whose fighting styles Swales said were "primitive," were at times less trouble than Iranians who crossed the border to fight the Americans.

"Their style of fighting is well-trained," Swales recalled. "They aim their shots and medevac their wounded soldiers."

Roadside bombs and car bombs were a constant threat.

His Stryker unit survived the brunt of one such bomb simply because the driver of his vehicle "felt something strange" was about to happen as they approached a car parked by a roadside.

Iraqis would practice detonating car bombs by setting off their car alarms.

"They were training to kill us, and there was nothing we could do about it," he said.

Not all Iraqis were looking to harm him, he said. Most people he met during house searches were kind, especially the children.

One little girl touched his heart, he said. She was about 10, with a disabled mother and a mentally challenged father. She'd quit school to take care of them, he said. The U.S. soldiers collected books and other learning materials and took them back to her house.

Swales was hoping to check in on the girl before his deployment ended. He didn't have the chance.

'I think it's been more helpful than harmful'

On March 30, almost eight months into the unit's deployment, the Strykers were coming back after a long day on patrol.

A line of cars was spotted, and the decision was made to pull them over for one last inspection before returning to base.

One of the cars, it turned out, had an arsenal inside.

When the hatch on Swales' Stryker came down, the insurgents began firing AK-47s at the emerging troops.

Swales said he never saw the car or the insurgents.

He moved to protect the rear flank, and, in a moment, his leg was split by an insurgent's bullet.

He went down and started rapidly losing blood. He was able to drag himself to a safe place and wrap a tourniquet around the injured limb.

Somewhere in the haze of blood loss and fierce combat, Swales' training kicked in.

He pointed the SAW toward the attackers, he was told. Family members, when notified of his injury, were told by Army officials that he had acted courageously and that his action saved lives. Details, available only from his unit in Iraq, Army officials said, weren't available last week.

Swales said he doesn't remember much beyond picking up his gun and firing.

When the firefight ended, the insurgents were dead. So was a U.S. soldier, Sgt. Kenneth L. Ridgley.

The injured Americans were loaded back into the Stryker, which headed at top speed to a forward observing base.

There, other soldiers tried to stop Swales' bleeding, pulling the tourniquet so tight it snapped in half. The pain at that moment, Swales said, was the worst he'd ever felt.

"I was less than friendly with my squad leader at the time," he said with a laugh. "But we've talked since, and it's OK."

Swales said he was conscious throughout the ordeal, trying to joke with the medics and keeping his injured buddies in good spirits.

He was kept at the base until dark, then flown to another facility in Iraq.

After that, things blur together in an almost-hallucinogenic fugue.

While he was still in Iraq, medics fixed his torn artery, using a graft from his right leg.

"They were nice enough to cut around the tattoo," he said with a smile, pointing to the place where a snaking scar curves around a tribal yin-yang sign on his ankle.

From there, he was taken to Kuwait, then Landstuhl, Germany, where he underwent a series of operations. He ended up at last in Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.

There, his knee was reconstructed. Metal rods were used to reassemble his shattered leg.

Once he came out of his painkiller-induced haze, Swales said, being at the legendary Army hospital was a moving experience.

"I met mothers who gave up their homes, their jobs, their cars to be with their son or daughter," he said. "In my mind, those are the real heroes."

Swales still must use crutches, and he undergoes regular physical therapy at HealthSouth in Pleasant Gap. But he is undaunted.

"It's going to be a long time (to recover)," he said. "But I'm going to push myself. I'm not going to let this injury slow down my life. I think it's been more helpful than harmful in my life. You learn about yourself by being uncomfortable."

His mother, Gayle Swales, said his optimism amazed his doctors and nurses.

"They kept saying how quickly he was recovering," she said. "A lot of it has to do with his attitude and determination."

Healing, Chris Swales said, is harder than being hurt.

Harder, still, is waiting for word about his friends still overseas.

"You know your friends are in harm's way, and there's nothing you can do about it," he said.

Before the injury, Swales was planning to get out of the service when his time was up. The leg, he figures, just accelerated that a little.

"It's just one more step," he said. "I don't want to limit myself with my experiences. I've worked many jobs, lived all over the country, and there's so much more to do."

[Bryguy1224 11]

That is the 4th BASE jumper that I am aware of that has come over here to Iraq.

Bryan

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Stryker Brigade is here out of Ft. Lewis, Washington if that helps you any.

Hubby and I were both stationed here for 5 years (him) 3 years (me). That was before Stryker was here though.

Sorry, wish I could help ya more. Mebbe some of the locals could help you out. Ask Dex.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[Zenister 0]

that Stryker BDE (the 2nd) is... at least for the moment (they actually 'belong' to Hawaii) there are currently 3 Stryker BDEs and will eventually be 6..

hmmm ,based on the article he joined the army while i was deployed with the 1st SBCT... the name doesnt ring any bells, but if he was at Lewis for any length of time its pretty likely he jumped at Kapow at some point....

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[DexterBase 0]

That name doesn't strike a bell for me either. In any case, I'm glad to hear he's doing okay.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Quote

that Stryker BDE (the 2nd) is... at least for the moment (they actually 'belong' to Hawaii) there are currently 3 Stryker BDEs and will eventually be 6..

hmmm ,based on the article he joined the army while i was deployed with the 1st SBCT... the name doesnt ring any bells, but if he was at Lewis for any length of time its pretty likely he jumped at Kapow at some point....

Sorry. Back when I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, there was no Stryker anything over there...I think we were just receiving 9th ID from California, Ft. Ord, and we were just taking in 3/1 Field Artillery from Germany, if memory serves?? I dated a guy in field artillery for a whole week... Come to think of it, I dated a guy in 9th ID too...right before I enlisted when he was in Ft. Ord, then when I was in basic, the fucker GOT MARRIED, right after sending me a letter in basic saying how great it was that I had enlisted & blah blah blah. He didn't even have the balls to tell me. He told my best friend to tell me the next time I called home. Yeah, having your boyfriend marry someone else whilest you're away in basic training will kill anyone's self-esteem... Then to have fate twist the knife a little further and station you both on the same...damn...post.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.