Buchanan’s successful bill to protect training military personnel hits home for Bradenton family

It’s been a little over a year since the Bradenton community lost a military son in a tragic, and unnecessary training accident at Camp Humphrey in South Korea.

The family of Army SPC Nicholas Panipinto and Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, have successfully ensured Panipinto’s untimely death won’t be in vain.

The bill that was established in his honor is now law and American soldiers, sailors and Marines will have better protections to ensure life saving measures are in place when those warriors are training at home or abroad.

As part of the overall National Defense Authorization Act signed into law Friday by President Donald Trump, Buchanan’s bill requires the pentagon to examine emergency medical services on all U.S. military bases.

Panipinto, 20, was killed while driving a Bradley Fighting Vehicle that an ensuing investigation showed should not have been deployed on his training exercise due to a variety of maintenance issues that had not been resolved.

“We are so thankful to Congressman Buchanan for all of his help in getting these necessary changes signed into law,” said Kimberly Weaver, Panipinto’s mother. “This world is a better place because Nicholas was in it and the legacy he leaves behind will be in protecting the lives of his fellow service members.”

It’s Buchanan’s 23rd successful bill that has become law, including five last year that make animal cruelty a felony, protecting endangered species and ending horse slaughtering. But this bill was extra personal for Buchanan.

“The death of SPC Panipinto is a tragedy that never should have happened,” Buchanan said in a prepared statement. “That’s why I will keep working to end the heartbreaking and increasingly frequent number of military training accidents. I know how much these reforms mean to Nick’s family and I sincerely hope that this new law will ensure that no other family has to endure similar heartache.”

Panipinto would have likely survived the training accident had there been adequate emergency medical services to respond. The investigation into his death revealed several disturbing factors outside of the fact that the vehicle should not have been driven and that Panipinto’s unit lacked adequate training in the first place.

There were two MedEvac helicopters at the base, but one proved to be inoperable and the other got lost en route to the accident scene. It took five hours to get Panipinto to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The bill requires the defense department to take the following steps:

• Ensure compliance and strengthen current requirements for training and licensing military drivers.
• Add simulated training requirements to existing protocols to ensure military drivers are properly training and prepared for their assignments.
• Strengthen existing regulations to ensure there is a hospital or emergency medical facility at all U.S. military bases on foreign soil.
• Ensure military bases have properly functioning MedEvac helicopters and ambulances with appropriate medical supplies.