Big Horn’s Byrd To Be Honored As AARP Wyoming’s Hero Of The Game in November

Military and firefighting veteran Ross Byrd will be honored as AARP Wyoming’s Hero of the Game during the University of Wyoming Cowboys’ Nov. 22 football game with Nevada in Laramie. Byrd and his family will receive complimentary tickets to the game, parking passes, and dinner, and Byrd will be honored on the field during the game.

“I am overwhelmingly humbled and completely undeserving of this award,” Byrd said when told of his honor. “What I have been doing is simply the right thing to do.”

Byrd is very familiar with University of Wyoming athletic contests, having worked both Cowboy basketball and football games as a former member of the Laramie Fire Department. He has memories of seeing a mob carrying a goalpost down Grand Avenue in the early 2000s after a football win, and he was on shift when his ambulance team revived a Wyoming men’s basketball PA announcer after a cardiac event.

Byrd by the numbers

• 8 - The number of years Byrd served the US Military
• 7 - Deployments to the Middle East (four civil, three military)
• 2 - The different number of states whose national guard Byrd has served (Montana and Wyoming)
• 29 - The number of years Byrd has been a firefighter
• 40-70 - The number of days he is gone from home fighting wildland fires and providing advanced life support each year.
• 7 - The number of years ago Ross told himself he would retire from firefighting.
• 1 - The number of goalposts he has encountered walking towards him down Grand Avenue in Laramie while working for the Laramie Fire Department in 2002.

A Life Spent Helping Others
Byrd’s life has been dominated by firefighting and military service. Byrd grew up in Westminster, Colo., the son of a Marine Veteran in a neighborhood with a strong veteran influence. After graduating high school, Byrd first enlisted in the Air Force in 1988 and was stationed at Cheyenne’s F.E. Warren Air Force Base, where he was a firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician.

”I think half my neighborhood were veterans of the Korean and Vietnam era,” Byrd said. “It was a very patriotic environment. I wanted to do my part for the country and learn a good trade.”

During his four years in the Air Force, he was stationed in Germany and deployed to the Middle East, supporting fighter aircraft during the Desert Storm and Desert Shield missions in Iraq and Kuwait. He would leave the Air Force as a Senior Airman.

After three years as a Department of Defense firefighter in Cheyenne, Byrd moved to Oregon, where he earned his Associate Degrees in Fire Science and Paramedic Medicine before returning to Wyoming to take a full-time position with the Laramie Fire Department, which he held for 15 years.

While working for the Laramie Fire Department, he answered the call to defend the nation once again in 2003, enlisting in the Wyoming National Guard. During that hitch, he was deployed back to the Middle East with the Second Battalion, 300th Field Artillery unit out of Sheridan soon. This time, he was deployed to Iraq, where his unit provided personal security, conducted patrols, and was involved in detainee operations.

“Nine-eleven happened while I was in Laramie, and I knew I wanted to be a part of mitigating the impending terrorist threat. I wanted to help our folks in the Middle East, so I enlisted again,” Byrd said.

In 2009, Byrd discharged from the Laramie Fire Department and enlisted in the Montana Army National Guard for two years and was soon sent back to Iraq, performing as a cavalry scout going ahead of the main convoy, scouting terrain and looking for perspective threats.

Byrd was discharged from military service after a total of eight years and seven deployments to the Middle East, comprising three military and four civilian deployments. Along the way, he earned the Bronze Star, three Iraq Campaign Medals, one National Defense Service Medal, two bronze service stars in Southwest Asia; the Global War on Terrorism Citation, the Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Air Force Good Conduct Medal and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

Back to Firefighting
Since 2017, Byrd has been deployed on wildland fires throughout the Intermountain West, including Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. Last year, he fought the Elk Fire protecting homes in Northern Wyoming. He has been on most of the wildland fires in the Laramie area (Mullen, Ryan, Badger Creek, Britania, Spring Creek), spending between 40 and 70 days (often 16-hour days) away from home each year. Byrd works as an engineer or a line paramedic offering advanced life support in wilderness areas. He said he has no plans to retire at present, even though he told himself he would retire from firefighting seven years ago.

“I like the people involved in firefighting,” Byrd said. “Service to the public is important to us. You are contributing to your community in a positive manner.”

When not fighting fires, he recruits and trains the next generation of firefighters and emergency medical service providers. He says, “There is a trend of fire and EMS where the median age is increasing while the enrollment is decreasing. There is an alarming decline in people wanting to pursue a career in civil service, while call volumes continue to increase. We are also seeing more PTSD and burnout among firefighters and EMS.

Making a Good Life In Wyoming
Byrd retired from the military as a Sargent and says his injuries from that life include some hearing loss, minor back injuries and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He is appreciative of his wife and family for being willing to keep the trains running on time at home.

“Military families have to deal with the choices we make,” Ross told AARP Wyoming. “What you bring home affects the family. Your being gone affects the family.”

Ross and his wife, Ann, a pharmacist for the VA, have a small ranch near Big Horn where they raise cattle and grow hay. Ross has four children, including one who is attending the University of Wyoming and studying pre-med in hopes of one day serving the community like her father.

Byrd remains an active volunteer in his community, where he serves as a member of the Big Horn Volunteer Fire Department. His volunteer history also included ski patrol work in Sheridan County and Albany County, and he helps kids’ sports activities and coaches kids on “what not to do when skiing.” He was also a paramedic for the SWAT team in Albany County.

“He is a loving and dedicated father and husband and avid outdoorsman,” wrote Ann in her nomination of Ross. “He instills values in his children that he learned throughout his time in the military and public service, and fosters their love and respect for their home state and country.”

AARP and Military, Veterans, and Their Families
AARP has more than 3 million veterans in its membership and has made issues facing veterans, military members, and their families a priority. To that end, the organization has produced a free military caregiving handbook available by clicking here. The guide offers helpful resources and caregiving checklists, facts about veteran and military caregivers, and five key issues to address in your caregiving journey.

AARP also offers the free Watchdog Alert Veterans Addition guide, which is available by clicking here. The guide outlines the fact 1-in-3 current or former military members have been targeted by disability or benefit scams and how veterans and military families can avoid being scammed. More free resources can be found at aarp.org/veterans.

AARP Wyoming has a Veterans Advisory Council comprised of veterans from around the state who organize events for veterans, monitor public policy, and ensure Wyoming Veterans have access to the resources and benefits they have earned. To learn more, reach out to Colonel Tim Sheppard at
timothy.sheppard@wyo.gov.