Photo By Maj. J. Scott Detweiler | SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A soldier from Columbia, South Carolina is deployed to Puerto...... read more read more
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A soldier from Columbia, South Carolina is deployed to Puerto Rico supporting the Puerto Rican government’s recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria. Army Sgt. Alon Humphrey is a videographer assigned to the 24th Press Camp Headquarters, 1st Armored Division Artillery of the US Army, based in Ft. Bliss, Texas.
Hurricane Maria was a Category 5 hurricane. It struck the island of Puerto Rico, an American territory, on September 20, 2017.
On October 1, 2017, 19 members of the 24th PCH deployed to San Juan, Puerto Rico to provide media coverage of the response efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the military.
Humphrey created several videos during the deployment. Large organizations including ABC World News and the Discovery Channel selected his work for publication in their own stories.
According to Humphrey, missions consisted of going “to get the stories out about what is happening here with the distribution of food and water to the families, the EPA going out and checking the water to make sure it is drinkable for the locals. Also doing a story on the dialysis centers and the patients and making sure that they are getting treated well.”
Lt. Col. Emanuel Ortiz, commander of the 24th PCH, is proud of the video, photography and articles produced by the unit, many of which were published by civilian media outlets.
“The soldiers have been doing an outstanding job getting high quality products. Privates coming out of the Defense Information School have done an outstanding job. To see their capabilities and professionalism covering these stories has been amazing,” stated Ortiz.
In addition to producing original stories, the 24th PCH also coordinates media coverage requests from both the Puerto Rican government and FEMA.
“From the beginning we were very synchronized in our efforts," Ortiz said. “Everybody knew the three priorities: make sure the routes are clear, and bring commodities and electricity to Puerto Rico.”
While other Press Camps are assigned to the Reserve and the National Guard, the 24th PCH is the only unit of its kind in the full time Army. Therefore, it provides for some unique opportunities.
“I hope that the people see that we’re doing a lot of good things here,” said Humphrey. “Going through the local cities, towns and the mountains the people are grateful that we are here and helping. You can see it on their faces, their smiles and everything. It has been one of the more rewarding deployments that I’ve been on. We are actually seeing the help and getting the handshakes and all the gratitude. It has been great.”
US military forces, including the active component, National Guard and reserve, are deployed across Puerto Rico to support the Puerto Rican government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in recovering from the effects of multiple powerful storms that struck the island in the summer of 2017. More information on the US military response in Puerto Rico is available at www.PuertoRicoResponse.com.
Story by Capt. J. Scott Detweiler, Commander of the 172nd Public Affairs Detachment, Vermont National Guard.
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2017 14:01 |
| Story ID: | 253761 |
| Location: | SAN JUAN, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBIA, SC, US |
| Hometown: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 262 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, COLUMBIA SOLDIER DEPLOYS TO PUERTO RICO, by MAJ J. Scott Detweiler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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