BREMERHAVEN, Germany — A 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (2ABCT), 1st Armored Division Soldier was recognized by the United States Army Europe and Africa Commanding General Darryl A. Williams for his life-saving actions performed on a contractor that was injured during the offloading of equipment from the ARC ENDURANCE during deployment port operations in Germany on July 27, 2023.
U.S. Army Sgt. Zachary Braun, an infantryman, stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, and a native of Maria Stein, Ohio, was awarded a coin of excellence from Gen. Williams in a presentation at 4th Infantry Division Headquarters in Boleslawiec, Poland on Aug. 10.
"I really do not feel anything one way or the other for what I did,” Braun said. “If I was in that situation, I would hope someone would quickly do the same for me.”
For infantrymen, medical training saves lives, especially on the battlefield. During those unforeseen circumstances, infantrymen must be ready to spring into action and apply their training to save soldiers' lives, limbs, or eyesight. They hope they will never have to use their training, but they are trained to spring into action when the moment arises.
Braun stressed that his military training helped him know what to do. According to Braun, doctors credited him for applying the tourniquet correctly, which possibly helped save the contractor's life.
“My military training helped me know I needed to stop the bleeding, and I had to act quickly," emphasized Braun. "Everything was just muscle memory for me."
At the time, Braun was a member of the supercargo, a person employed on board a vessel by the U.S. Army to oversee U.S. military equipment carried on the ship. Braun traveled over 7,000 nautical miles from the Port of Beaumont, Texas, safeguarding 2ABCTs armored vehicles and wheeled vehicles until the ship ported in Germany.
The port of Bremerhaven is among the most important universal ports in Europe. It is the sixteenth-largest container port in the world and the fourth-largest in Europe. The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat team transported over 200 track vehicles and over 3000 pieces of rolling stock through various ports throughout Europe. The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, headquarters is forward deployed to Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area in Poland.
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