Daring gesture of the Best Enlisted Soldier couple

Returning from work in the Knin Barracks, Pvt Antonija and PFC Dejan Sadiković, a young married couple of the Guards Mechanised Brigade of the Croatian Army saw a capsized car in the ditch; they returned to see if anybody needed help...

Returning from work in the Knin Barracks,  Pvt  Antonija and PFC Dejan Sadiković, a young married couple of  the Guards Mechanised Brigade of the Croatian Army saw a capsized  car in the ditch; they returned to see if anybody needed help, hearing calls for help and seeing a man hanging out from the car;  at once shocked and calm they did not hesitate for a second.   While the young Corporal was doing his best to rescue the man from the vehicle which was caught in fire afterthe crash and did his best to extinghuish it, his wife was seeking help and looked for and contacted the driver’s wife, whom the shocked man was calling, unaware that she was not with him.  She managed to make him hear her voice on the phone, after they searched all around for her and realised she was not with her husband. With much difficulty a few drivers passing-by and Dejan managed to rescue the man who was passing out away from the car, which was going up in smoke and soon exploded. The ambulance came in time to immobilise the driver, who  passed out, and to take him to hospital. He broke the arm, the leg and three ribs and suffered  hemorrage and was in induced coma, but eventually recovered.  That day he had rushed to see off his son, who was going to sea.  Antonija  and Dejan later visited them at their home and were glad that to see him well after all, and the driver is very grateful to them.  The happy end is  the result of Antonija’s and Dejan’s timely, swift and composed reactions, which are quite logical as both of them are military, and what is more Dejan was also a member of the guards brigade (he is now a member of the CIS Division). They profited from their military training skilfully avoiding panic and being focussed on the procedures necessary to save the driver’s life. “We were instructed how to act in emergency situations of the kind, how to keep  the composure and think positive. I also learned a lot from my co-workers who took part in the Homeland War“, said Antonija. They only realised the real danger and went euforic when they got home and the adrenaline rush was over. The daring gesture won Antonija the title of the Best  Enlisted  Soldier of September 2017, which was handed in to her by the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Jure Šundov. She modestly says saving a human life is the biggest award, and says she is proud of them two. Her unit is proud of her, and asked her many questions about their feat. Dejan received the Medal for Daring Feat from the President of the Republic; he received it in January 2018 from  the Commander of CIS Division, Lt. Col. Darko Vuković.  Importantly, Dejan had already won the recognition as the Best Enlisted Soldier of August 2016. So their house in Sinj is a home to two best soldiers of the Croatian Armed Forces! Dejan is an IT specialist, eager to learn new things and keep up with the developing and increasingly important domain and hopes to receive the status of Army specialist. Antonija works in the  Financial and Material Management  Department, she is good at managing the accounts and likes her working environment very much. She hasn’t considered moving to the barracks in Sinj.  Although still under the impression, the young couple modestly says they are glad to have helped the person in need, and to have done it together. They both took the basic military training in Koprivnica back in 2006, but they really met two years later, when assigned to the Command of the Brigade in Knin.  Their married life is a story of  sacrifice  and understanding; they don’t see each other all the time; they sometimes manage to have lunch together or Dejan is asked to help with the computers in Antonija’s office.  They were also separated for a month period or longer, when Dejan was also deployed to Afghanistan. The important recognitions will shortly be followed by  some more happy news, the couple revealed.