Press Release
☷Army Guard pilot injured in Iraq returns to cockpit
U.S. Army ( By Press Release office)
Jan 14,2024
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Capt . Brendan Meehan got his picture taken at the New Hampshire Army Aviation Support Facility in Concord , New Hampshire . He got hurt when an Iranian missile hit Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on January 8 , 2020 . After getting treated for two years , Meehan is flying again and in charge of a unit . In Concord , N . H . , Meehan started warning units to find shelter after hearing about a potential Iranian attack on Al Asad Air Base . On the morning of January 8 , 2020 , Iran launched 22 missiles at coalition headquarters in Al Asad and Erbil Air Base in response to the U . S . killing of Iranian Commander Qassem Soleimani . A missile landed really close to Meehan , causing a big explosion and throwing him 15 feet . Meehan looked around and saw a lot of smoke and thought the operations tent blew up . He checked his injuries and crawled to the nearest bunker . After a while , someone asked if he was okay . Meehan eventually moved between two bunkers to check on troops inside . He said more missiles came down and felt like tremors . Meehan originally put his team in a bunker by the airfield , but moved them closer to him for better command and control . The empty bunker was later found damaged by shrapnel . His decision saved lives and he got awarded the Army Commendation Medal with Valor . While no U . S . troops died in the attack , Meehan said the base was destroyed . Three days later , Meehan realized his team had serious injuries and called a flight doctor . Each soldier was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury . Even though he didn ' t feel well , Meehan focused on his team ' s health and had to be told to seek medical care . He said it was the right thing to do . It was only 10 minutes into the test that doctors told Meehan he needed further tests . "That ' s when the symptoms really set in , " Meehan said . "It was debilitating . It felt like the world was spinning . I couldn ' t look at a screen . I had a bad headache . " Meehan continued to put the mission first while waiting for his replacement . He continued to overcome his injuries in order to think carefully and activate the emergency medical team . On February 7 , Meehan was evacuated to a military medical facility in Landstuhl , Germany . "Unfortunately , it has been determined that my condition requires immediate transfer to Walter Reed , " said Meehan , who arrived on February 13 . During multiple tests , doctors told Meehan he would never fly again . "They told me , ' You should look for a job outside of aviation , ' " Meehan said . "Or , ' You should take this medicine to get better . ' " Meehan refused any medicine . He didn ' t want his brain to become dependent on prescriptions to function properly . "This would mean I would be grounded indefinitely and my hopes of ever flying again would be in jeopardy , " Meehan said . ``I wasn ' t going to give up so easily . ' ' On May 7 , nearly four months after the attack , Meehan was awarded the Purple Heart by Army Chief of Staff Gen . James McConville . However , Meehan noticed that her symptoms were getting worse and decided to seek alternative treatment . "He always downplayed the seriousness of things because he didn ' t want anyone to feel bad , " said retired Staff Sgt . Private First Class Rodney Anderson , then an operations noncommissioned officer with the 54th Army Headquarters . Anderson , who was also Meehan ' s 1st platoon sergeant , was informed that Meehan had decided to leave the hospital and had arrived at Walter Reed with his fellow aviators to be returned to the Granite State . Returning to New Hampshire , Meehan explored other forms of care and found Dr . Victor Pedro , chief innovation officer at the International Brain Institute in New York . "I ' ll never forget the day I met Brendan , " Pedro said . ” . I remember his father coming in with him and I was looking up at him and he put his hand on my shoulder and said , ``You have to make his son better . ' ' . "said . "As a father , as a father of four children , I understand , " Pedro said , his voice breaking as he recalled the incident . Pedro said traumatic brain injuries can become more serious the longer they are left untreated . “He couldn ' t get the treatment he needed because everything was shut down , ” Pedro said , explaining the medical stress on healthcare facilities nationwide due to COVID - 19 . "Now we have a situation . Meanwhile , it would be ideal to get them in right away . "Obstacles kept coming , but Meehan never forgot to focus on his goal of flying again . "You have to give it to him because he didn ' t stop , " Anderson said . "He never quit . He was willing to do whatever it took . That was the hard part . About two years after his injury , Meehan went back to Walter Reed to complete a series of tests required to fly again . "The lead - up to being cleared was really scary and unknown , " Meehan said . But his efforts paid off and he got the green light to fly . In June 2022 , during training in Massachusetts , Meehan had his first flight since the injury . "I was super nervous , " Meehan said . "I just kept hoping it would go well . " It took another year after that flight to get back to full missions , but Meehan finally felt like he had a future again . Today , he ' s not only flying but also commanding a company . "He ' s an amazing leader , " said Col . Woody Groton . "We can all learn from his resilience . " Meehan ' s friend , Anderson , agrees . "He ' s unmatched and it shows how incredible he is , " Anderson said . Meehan said this experience has opened his eyes and made him a better pilot and person .
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