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Texas Guardsmen Ready for the Storm
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Bethany Anderson
100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
AUSTIN, Texas (August 26, 2020) - Texas Guardsmen prepared, positioned and stood ready to respond as Texas citizens braced for Tropical Storm Marco and Hurricane Laura’s impact near the Texas-Louisiana border, the last week of August, 2020. Constant communication and coordination between the Texas Military Department and their local, state and federal partners made this seamless execution of emergency weather response possible.
“There were a lot of people putting in a lot of hours to make it happen. It is not easy to be seamless,” said Lt. Col. Rodney Kelley, Director of Operations and Training with the Texas Military Department. “There is a lot of complexity in our current operating environment.”
Texas Military personnel working at the State Operations Center with the Texas Department of Emergency Management, began evaluating the increasing severity of the storms and assessing the capabilities needed to respond 72 hours before the storms’ expected landfall.
Once the Texas Military Department identified what capabilities TDEM and other partner agencies needed for support, the organization had to determine what capabilities and resources it could allocate to fill in the gaps to support the emergency response.
“We currently have over 1100 Texans serving on the border, another 1600 on COVID-19 and Civil Disturbance response orders, and even more mobilizing or preparing to mobilize overseas in support of federal missions,” said Kelley. “We have many lines of effort and we have to ensure all the needs for Texans are met while responding to an emergency or disaster.”
As the storms continued on their path towards the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast, the Texas Military worked round the clock to ensure equipment and personnel readiness. More than 1,000 Texas Guardsmen responded to serve their fellow Texans.
“We prepare for the worst, we hope for the best, and when Texans are in need, we roll out,” said Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, the Adjutant General for Texas.
Texas Army and Air National Guardsmen pre-positioned fixed and rotary wing aircraft in Austin, San Antonio, and Grand Prairie. As the storm track became clearer, ground transportation platoons, companies and sheltering teams staged in Beaumont, Houston, Huntsville and Bastrop; setting the stage for the Texas Guard to rapidly respond in different directions days before they were needed.
“We were able to respond with 100 high profile vehicles and 1000 personnel within 48 hours, on a weekend and into the early part of a week,” said Kelley. “It’s pretty incredible how the Texas Air, Army, and State Guard are able to work so well with our partners. The reason this all works is due to the good relationships we have with our partner agencies.”
Military Disaster Coordinators from across the state directly support their local counties and TDEM Disaster District Coordinators by building and maintaining continuous, fluid communication at the local, state, and federal level.
“Communication is critical. The MDCs are our liaison officers on the ground. They’re able to receive information from local, state, and federal agencies right there on the ground and get the right capabilities in the places they’re needed,” said Kelley.
Texas Army Guardsmen assisted with evacuating cities along the coastline as Hurricane Laura storm surges threatened Texan lives and property. The Texas State Guard, an all-volunteer force, badged and helped transport personnel to shelters as part of the evacuation efforts.
Almost as quickly as Texas Military Department mobilized for Marco and Laura, the storms passed and left nearly 50,000 Texans without power. Many of Texas Citizen-Guardsmen were able to return home to their families, but the Texas Military Department continued to work with the Texas Department of Emergency Management to provide support for the critical infrastructure and medical care needed for Texans in and around Orange.
“Our Guardsmen and women responded immediately to the threat of Hurricane Laura and pre-positioned for as many given scenarios as possible. Although we did not ultimately need the force we had amassed, we were ready,” said Norris. “Seeing this preparedness reminded Texas that if a large storm comes again, we will be ready and we will be prepared.”
Tropical storms and hurricanes are an inevitability for Texas, which is why the Texas Military Department trains year round with their partner agencies and collaborates to assess how each emergency weather response is handled and how to improve for the next one.
“Even though the end result for our hurricane response for Harvey, Hannah, and Laura were excellent, every storm is different. That’s why we always have to assess, try to improve, and be ready,” said Kelley. “Our Texas military forces are extraordinary at all levels and our partner agencies do great work. We continue to learn how we can do this better and respond faster.”
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.03.2020 17:25 |
| Story ID: | 377465 |
| Location: | AUSTIN, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Texas Guardsmen respond to Tropical Storm Marco and Hurricane Laura, by Andrew Smith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
