When Mitchell Briggs, a junior aeronautical studies major and Air Force ROTC cadet, was driving to his apartment on March 22, he had no idea he would be put in a life or death situation.

Briggs was driving off campus, when he saw a car pulled over. Not thinking anything of it, he decided to go around the car and continue on his way home.

“When I passed the car, I was curious if anyone was inside, so I looked really quick,” Briggs said. “I saw a woman slapping a man, and my initial thought was that they were in a fight, but then I realized the man was unconscious.”

Briggs stopped his car and headed over to the scene the same time another man was running over to help. Briggs never caught the other man’s name.

When Briggs arrived at the car, the man was unbuckling the unconscious man from his seat and getting him to the ground.

“I took his vitals and found that he still had a heartbeat and a pulse; he just wasn’t breathing,” Briggs said. “We (Briggs and the man) were both CPR certified, so we started performing it on him.”

Briggs and the man split up the tasks, ensuring the unconscious man became stabilized. They waited with him and the woman in the car until the paramedics arrived.

Briggs, who previously worked as a lifeguard, credits the CPR training as what helped him save the man’s life. He said the Enrollment Allocation program (EA) the Air Force provides helped in the situation as well.

Enrollment Allocation is a summer training program where cadets learn Self Aid Buddy Care, which teaches them battlefield first aid. The training does not provide them with certification, but it teaches them what to do in serious situations.

“My lifeguard experience gave me more training and understanding of CPR, but my ROTC experience gave me the courage to immediately help in that situation,” Briggs said.

Though Briggs saved a man’s life, he does not want any unwarranted attention. Briggs said he feels he has a calling to serve and did what he felt was right in the situation.

“I feel it’s my responsibility and civic duty to help others when I can,” Briggs said. “I’m not doing it to get attention or awards.”

Lt. Col. Daniel Finkelstein and the other members of AFROTC Detachment 630 are very proud of Briggs and his selfless actions.

“We are thankful Cadet Briggs was in the right place at the right time and willing to get involved,” Finkelstein said. “His actions reflect great credit upon himself, Detachment 630, Kent State and the United States Air Force.”

Contact Sky Fought at [email protected].