Two local army cadets have been recognized for their quick thinking in helping a visiting cadet suffering from a concussion.

Daniel Ziegler and Brandon Jager, both 17, were honoured last month with the Yukon Commissioner's Award for Exemplary Action for helping a sea cadet visiting the territory from Winnipeg.

The injured teen was among a group of sea cadets in the Yukon in February 2012 as part of a tradition of cadets hosting other groups from around the country.

His name is not being released.

The group was tobogganing in the Carcross Desert when a few of the boys fell off and were hit by another toboggan.

"I got hit and I was fine, but the other kid got hit in the head pretty severely and there was a little bit of blood,” Jager said in an interview last week.

He called over Ziegler, and both friends say they started recognizing the signs of a concussion.

"I asked him some questions because he was kind of loopy; he didn't look like he knew what he was doing,” Jager recalled.

"I asked him questions about where he was, who he was, who his parents were and he couldn't remember.”

Ziegler, whose mother has worked with ambulance services and is first aid-trained, said he's grown up with an understanding of first aid and concussions.

Jager?

"I just have friends that always hurt their heads,” he said, laughing.

The teens brought the injured cadet to adults nearby.

He was taken into Carcross on a first aid toboggan pulled by a snowmobile and ended up spending two days in Whitehorse General Hospital.

"This is why the cadet program is so successful, it teaches them the skills to be able to realize the signs on their own,” said commanding officer Capt. Ed Peart.

"Without the first aid training they received through the cadet program, this could have had a very different outcome.”

Social media allow Ziegler and Jager to keep in contact with all the friends they made from Winnipeg.

Through the cadet program, funds are allocated for groups in each region to either host another cadet unit or visit one.

Next month, the Whitehorse core is off to Victoria to visit a sea cadet unit.