On a warm Sunday in April, Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Goad was cruising along a California state highway, slicing through farmland and small desert mountain towns, and listening to the engines roar on his fellow Marine Riders Iwo Jima motorcycle club.
As the San Diego-based group neared Julian, California on Route 76, Goad’s keen eye caught a glimpse of a rider up ahead making an uphill right turn.
The rider collided with a sport utility vehicle as the club rolled by.
The entire group immediately circled back and Goad saw the SUV driver reversing the vehicle from on top of the downed rider.
What Goad would do next saved the rider’s life and resulted in his award of the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal on July 1.
“Gunnery Sgt. Goad embodied a bias for action and acted when others chose the role of bystander,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Davis, commanding officer of VMFA-314. “He saved someone’s life, and his actions are a testament to his character and leadership.”
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Goad was no newbie rider himself.
He serves as president of his unit’s VMFA-314 motorcycle club, with the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, according to a Marine Corps press release. That’s in addition to his personal riding time with the Iwo Jima club.
Much like having time off from a jet cockpit, Goad said that when rider’s haven’t saddled up in awhile they need to ease back into it.
“Riding motorcycles is a perishable skill, just like getting back into airplanes,” Goad said.
Through the Corps’ Motorcycle Mentorship Program and his unit’s club, Goad runs quarterly rides and safety checks with fellow Marines.
California has 800,000 registered motorcycles and more riders than any other state, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Motorcycles made up 3.5% of all registered vehicles in the U.S. in 2021; they tallied 14% of motor vehicle-related fatalities that year.
Since October 2023 there have been 19 fatal private motor vehicle fatalities and 10, or more than half, involved a motorcycle, according to the most recent Marine Corps on and off-duty mishap data.
Another Marine motorcycle fatality occurred on duty during a command group ride in March.
Six Marines died in motorcycle incidents in 2023.
While in uniform, Goad serves as a powerline division chief with his unit.
The gunny has spent more than 14 years hustling on busy airfields and flight decks as jets and helicopters roar around him and his crew.
“Situational awareness on the flight deck is paramount,” Goad said. “We tell these Marines to constantly look left, look right. Every two seconds. Because one second could mean your life.”
Back on that state highway, one of Goad’s fellow riders started assessing the downed rider as Goad began triage.
He used a belt to apply a tourniquet above the rider’s knee and then noticed another rupture, applying a second tourniquet from a first aid kit from his motorcycle.
Emergency workers would later tell Goad that without those tourniquets the rider’s blood loss would have been fatal.
“I think it comes down to instinct. I’m very aware of my surroundings, Goad said. “I’ve also learned hesitating at the wrong moment could mean life or death.”
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
