Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Richard Penny, 633rd Air Base Wing Inspector General management internal control toolset administrator and special access program manager, Adam Bradshaw and Ashley Staley receive Citizen Lifesaving certificates at Fort Monroe, Virginia, June 7, 2018.JBLE Airman saves girl from drowning
                        
                        
                        U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Richard Penny, 633rd Air Base Wing Inspector General management internal control toolset administrator and special access program manager, Adam Bradshaw and Ashley Staley receive Citizen Lifesaving certificates at Fort Monroe, Virginia, June 7, 2018. On May 13, 2018, Penny, Bradshaw and Staley risked their lives to save a nine-year-old girl from drowning near the rock banks of Fort Monroe Beach. (Courtesy photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

JBLE Airman helps save drowning girlPublished July 4, 2018
                    
                    By Airman 1st Class Anthony Nin Leclerec
                    
                    
                    633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
            **JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. (AFNS)  --**A child was drowning at Fort Monroe Beach, Virginia, May 13, 2018.
When medical services arrived, they found a young girl who had been rescued from the water and was safe in her mother’s arms. The nine year old had gone swimming, when the current took her into deeper waters where she could no longer stand and was getting closer to the rocks.
“My friend got up and said ‘that little girl is in the water,’” said Tech Sgt. Richard Penny, 633rd Air Base Wing Inspector General management internal control toolset administrator and special access program manager. “My back was towards the water so I couldn't see what was going on, but she took off sprinting so I just started sprinting with her.”
It was at that moment that Penny, along with friends Ashley Staley and Adam Bradshaw, sprang into action.
At first, Penny and his friends couldn’t locate the girl. He remembers getting to the top of the rocks and seeing her still conscious, floating in the water.
“Then we heard her mom come sprinting and shouting, ‘help my daughter, she can’t swim, and I can’t either,’” Penny said.
Penny and Staley started climbing down the sharp, slippery rocks until they reached what they thought was shallow water.
“We weren't expecting for the water to be so deep that close to the rocks, but it was over our heads,” Penny said.
He said, this was the first time he remembers being afraid for himself -- even after four deployments.
“I don’t know if I ever would have done that if I wasn’t in the military,” Penny said. “The way the Air Force molds you into being a leader, the mentality and mindset given in the military, helped me through that.”
Soon after, Bradshaw arrived after swimming around the rocks in search for the girl and helped bring her back to the edge of the rocks.
“At this point, the water was just beating us against the rocks,” Penny said. “The water was just crazy. It was really, really rough that day.”
After getting the little girl and Staley out of the water, Penny and Bradshaw were met by friends that had remained on shore to help them out of the water.
In the aftermath of the rescue, beach marker signs have been installed to help emergency responders locate incidents on the beach quicker. The brown signs with reflective numbers will assist 911 callers to accurately identify the area to responding units.
The Hampton, Virginia, Division of Fire and Rescue recognized Penny, Staley and Bradshaw with Citizen Lifesaving certificates June 7, 2018. They will receive medals at a later date.
“I never thought there would be a day that I would almost be giving up my life for someone,” Penny said. “But I don’t take it back, and I’m so thankful that on Mother’s Day, that mom got to take her little girl home.”rescue 



swimming 



inspector general 



through airmans eyes 



Joint Base Langley-Eustis 



Beach 



drowning 



JBLE 



633rd Air Base Wing 



Citizen Lifesaving Certificate 



TAE Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil