Photo By Sgt. Hubert Delany | A convoy of light medium tactical vehicles (LMTV) with the 104th Engineer Company,...... read more read more
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KATY, Texas – The sweltering southern sun beat down on the people of Wharton, Texas, as they waited in line for supplies outside of a local college that was flooded only a few days ago.
As crates of free water started to empty, five massive military vehicles drove to the people in need and delivered case after case of water and food.
After the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, the Active Duty Soldiers of III Corps and Fort Hood conducted a mission to recon and resupply the people of the Houston area by locating civilian supply points as part of relief operation: Task Force Truck.
A convoy of 15 light medium tactical vehicles (LMTVs) deployed from a Responder Support Camp operating in Katy, Texas. The vehicles were split into chalks of five in order to travel to different places within the cities and towns of south central Texas, which were damaged the worst.
The American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the supplies and gave a good portion of the information needed to support the Soldiers’ mission.
“It was an honor to see the Army in action,” said Monica Rivera, a bulk distribution lead for District 1, Area D of the American Red Cross. “I absolutely think we work together well. Many of us come from outside the community, so the Soldiers were our eyes and ears on the ground.”
Unlike most missions, the Soldiers did not have a set destination. They were tasked to explore 10 locations in the surrounding Houston area and find places to distribute the supplies.
Lack of communication between the communities in need and the task force meant that a key part of the Soldiers’ instructions was to make contact with local law enforcement, emergency managers, and community leaders to locate the communities most in need.
“It was a continual effort, but it was a success for everyone on the ground,” said 1st Lt. Blake C. Ridley, a New Orleans, Louisiana native and platoon leader assigned to 104th Engineering Construction Company, 36th Engineer Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas. “I’m really happy we got to play a part in helping here.”
Throughout the mission convoys operated by carrying a variety of goods including cleaning materials, shovels, tarps, water, rakes, and Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs). However, after the convoys initial contact with a community in need, the Soldiers annotated which supplies were most needed in the area, and tailored their convoy’s load for the next mission.
‘”The areas we went to no other teams had been there yet,” said Pfc. Zoe Grey, a health care specialist with the 1st Medical Bridge from Fort Hood, Texas. “I can’t imagine how the civilians there would have made it without some of the supplies we brought to them”
The mission mapped out dozens of civilian supply points, and delivered tons of supplies.
The Soldiers who made the mission a reality came from the 1st Cavalry Division, 36th Engineer Brigade, 89th Military Police Brigade, 11th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, 48th Chemical Brigade, 504th Military Intelligence Brigade and 1st Medical Brigade.
This operation was a smaller part of Task Force Truck, which brought more than 100 trucks and nearly 400 Soldiers to support relief efforts.
“Going out there to support hit me at an intense level,” said Grey. “This wasn't some far off country. This was men, women, and children, literally just hours away, who needed our help. I’m so glad we got to be there”
| Date Taken: | 09.05.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2017 13:26 |
| Story ID: | 247919 |
| Location: | KATY, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Hurricane Harvey: Soldiers Continue to Recon and Resupply Houston Area, by SGT Hubert Delany, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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