Texas Guardsmen, task force members respond to South Texas floods

Photo By Sgt. Miguel Ruiz | Texas Task Force 1 rescue swimmers Trevor Stokes (left) and Greg Reddish (right) check their equipment for safety and functionality before boarding a Texas National Guard Black Hawk helicopter June 21, 2018, in Laredo, Texas, to help Texans in need of flood evacuations in the Rio Grande Valley. Trevor and Greg set aside their civilian careers once a month to train alongside other TX-TF1 rescue swimmers and Texas National Guard helicopter pilots. In training, the teams rehearse daytime and nighttime water-rescue missions and constantly refine safe and efficient methods for conducting the missions. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Miguel Ruiz)  

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES

06.24.2018

Story by Spc. Miguel Ruiz 

100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

In response to recent flooding in the Texas Rio Grande Valley, rescue swimmers with Texas Task Force 1 (Urban Search and Rescue Team) and TXANG helicopter pilots were mobilized jointly.

Both organizations normally work independently of each other but combine their assets and expertise when flood disasters occur said Anthony Di Marco, a rescue swimmer with TX-TF1.

“There are not water-rescue components in the National Guard. That’s where we come in,” said Di Marco. “They fly us to where we need to be and help get us in the water or to where the people are who need rescue. It’s a great working relationship.”

The working relationships between the pilots and swimmers are not developed over night but rather are orchestrated and fine-tuned regularly.

Di Marco said he sets aside his full-time civilian career being a firefighter in Plano, Texas, once a month to train with TXANG helicopter pilots and TX-TF1 swimmers.

“We rehearse day-time and night-time rescue missions with Lakota and Blackhawk pilots,” said Di Marco. “The back and forth dialogue is great, we work closely together to determine the most efficient and safest ways of conducting the missions.”

Thanks to consistent training and set-in-place contingency plans, mission-readiness is very high when disasters occur said Texas Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 4 Brandon Briggs, a Standardization Instructor Pilot of Bravo company, 1-114th Aviation Regiment – Security and Support.

Briggs said that at any given time he, his helicopter crew and TX-TF1 swimmers can be ready to fly to wherever they are needed within three hours of receiving the call to duty.

“We didn’t have these same capabilities over five years ago,” said Briggs. “Local governments now have in place very specific mission-ready packages put together by the Texas Military Department. Local officials now know exactly how many of what assets are available to them at any given time of need.”

Briggs said what sets the TXARNG apart from other components of the military is its ability to work more closely with Texas’ local governments and organizations such as TX-TF1 to establish disaster contingency plans.

“It’s our job to be able to respond to events as quickly as possible,” said Briggs. “We are always ready.”

• Date Taken: 06.24.2018
• Date Posted: 06.28.2018 12:26
• Story ID: 282359
• Location: AUSTIN, TX, US