"I'm a sergeant major, and I take care of soldiers," said Command Sgt. Maj. Michelle Thompson, with 36th Sustainment Brigade. "I'm just here to help."
This was a mantra she put into action when a competitor slipped and broke his nose at the Texas Military Department's 2020 Best Warrior competition. Thompson was not at the competition to act as a medic, she was merely observing the event, but with blood draining from the competitor she knew there was no time to waste.
"I work in an ER," said Thompson. "I see that kind of thing all the time. I assessed the soldier quickly. The rest of his face was fine, but his nose was crooked. I went ahead and put it back in place, and pulled the clot out."
Thompson's military occupational specialty is 68W, an Army combat medic. She is also an emergency room nurse at Dallas Regional Medical Center. Having been a nurse for 28 years and a medic in the National Guard even longer, Thompson sees a lot of overlap between her civilian and military training.
"Medics respond no matter what your rank," said Thompson. "The reality is, you never know when something bad is going to happen. Military training teaches you to react faster."
Thompson says she is, first and foremost, a soldier, but she is also a valued member of the community because of those skillsets the military gave her.
Thomson didn't stop with the medic training the army provided. She continued to educate her self and advance her civilian career as a trauma nurse.
Thompson's drive to advance her medical skills both on and off the battlefield, making her an invaluable asset in both realms, embodies the life of a citizen-soldier.
"If you have two skill sets that bond together and can pull from one and pull from the other, you're just a more well-rounded human being," said Thompson. "And in turn a more well-rounded soldier."
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