There was a blood trail from the ambulance bay into the ER.

Tony Smith is a former firefighter/paramedic who transitioned into flight medicine — and he was the critical care medic responsible for transporting Dom after his line-of-duty shooting.

Before anyone confirmed it, Tony knew it was a cop. The police presence was overwhelming. Drones overhead. Helicopters in the air. When they landed at Bolingbrook, he remembers walking into the hospital and seeing blood leading into the trauma bay.

While Dom was in CT, Tony and his partner split roles. One reviewing live scans. The other priming blood, preparing TXA and calcium, setting up the ventilator — working toward their 15-minute transfer goal. Their mindset is simple: if a patient has a chance, they move fast to get them to the highest level of care available.

He remembers Dom fighting the tube. Moving all four extremities. A sign that there was still a fight left in him.

For the first time, Tony sits across from a former patient and revisits that night from inside the aircraft cabin. This episode isn’t about the gunfire. It’s about what happens after — when speed, training, and controlled decision-making determine whether someone makes it.

Still Here 🤙🏻

He saw Bin Laden before 9/11.
He pulled the trigger on the first Hellfire ever fired from a drone in combat.

Colonel Scott Swanson spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force — from flying Pave Hawks in Desert Storm to helping pioneer armed Predator drone operations in Afghanistan. In 2000, he watched Osama bin Laden walk out into the open. The strike never came.

One year later, after 9/11, Scott and his team became the tip of the spear — arming the Predator, hunting Taliban leadership, and firing the first Hellfire missile ever launched from a UAV in combat history. He was also overhead during Operation Anaconda and the Battle of Roberts Ridge, witnessing the events that would later lead to John Chapman receiving the Medal of Honor.

This episode dives into:

• The mission that almost changed history before 9/11

• The first armed drone strike of the War on Terror

• The psychological weight of “combat to cul-de-sac” warfare

• Watching war in high definition… then going home to dinner

This isn’t a tech story. It’s a human one. About responsibility. Restraint. And living with the “what if.”

Still Here 🤙🏻

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👉 Follow Beyond the Dispatch for raw stories that bring our heroes out of the shadows — and give them the mic.

We went live during the Project Fire Buddies Gala setup to capture the heart of the mission before the doors even opened. This episode features conversations with the people who help make Project Fire Buddies what it is today.

We sat down with Kevyn Holdefer, Ryan Ballard, Kelly DeGroot, Kurt DeGroot, and actor Matthew Willig to talk about how Project Fire Buddies was built, why it matters, and the powerful impact it has by pairing firefighters with children facing serious medical challenges.

At its core, Project Fire Buddies is about connection, consistency, and showing up — creating lasting bonds and more good days for kids and families who need them most. These conversations set the tone for an incredible night and an even greater mission.

Still Here 🤙🏻🎧 BTD Website: https://www.BeyondtheDispatch.comBTD Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jRR6F60PV7sTWWNIsLVJF?si=tkmapUPKS4SIyvMA_pqI4g