Citizen Airman renders aid during emergency

An Air Force Reserve medical professional had to use his military medical training while at his civilian job this fall.

Senior Airman Angel Merced-Morales, 512th Aerospace Medicine Squadron medical administrator, was at work as a Lowe’s assistant store manager in Newark, Delaware, Sept. 12, 2024, when he learned a customer was unresponsive in a bathroom stall.

Merced-Morales and a fellow co-worker rushed to assist the customer.

“We assessed the situation and realized he wasn’t breathing,” he said.  “We immediately began doing CPR for 10 minutes until the (emergency medical technicians) arrived. The customer left the store on a ventilator, and the EMTs were able to stabilize his heartbeat.”

The reservist said he initially learned CPR through the military and has had refresher courses through his civilian job.

Mukhtaar Watkins, the Newark Lowe’s store manager, said Merced-Morales is a strong employee, and he is proud of how he performed during the emergency.

“He jumped right in very quickly,” he said.  “It was a difficult situation, and he was able to use his CPR training effectively.”

“All I could think of was to stay calm and perform the steps,” said Merced Morales. “Before this situation, I would think about CPR a lot. It’s a topic often discussed in the medical field. And now that I’ve used it, I feel it has built up my confidence in using it during an emergency.”

Watkins said he has a lot of experience working with employees who are reservists. He said he has noticed those employees benefit from the structure of the military and are very respectful. He added Merced-Morales is a great example of this.

“He is a great employee,” he said. “He’s punctual, very professional, a great teammate to the other associates and is a strong leader.”

Looking ahead, Merced-Morales said he plans to continue progressing in both his military and civilian careers. On the civilian side he aims to become a store manager, and on the military side he is working to change his career field to public health and continue his reserve training.