Story by SSG Eric Walden, Texas State Guard

Every now and then when you meet someone, their name rings a bell, and before you know it you are asking “Oh are you related to….?” If you were to ask such a question of one of the newest recruits in the Texas State Guard (TXSG), a Private named Stephen Crockett, you'd be right in your hunch. Not long after Crockett was sworn into the 2nd Battalion, 6th Brigade of the TXSG at Camp Mabry in May, he was asked - and he confirmed - that he comes from a long line of Texas Crocketts, including a certain famous distant cousin who gave his all at The Alamo. 

Stephen descends from another "David" Crockett, too: "Davy's" grandfather, David, was massacred along with his wife in an attack by the Chickamauga Cherokee in 1777 at their cabin by near Crockett Creek in what is now called Rogersville, TN. The Cherokee also kidnapped a deaf and mute son named James and shot another son Joseph in the arm during the attack. The elder David Crockett was also the father of John Crockett: the father of the hero of the Alamo, and William Crockett from whom Stephen descends. 

The two brothers William and John ended up marrying sisters with the maiden name Hawkins (making Stephen a double cousin to Davy) who also happened to be cousins to Brigadier General John Sevier’s wife making them related by marriage to Sevier. The then-Col. John Sevier, who later became the first governor of Tennessee, fought with William and John Crockett as part of the “Overmountain men” at the Battle of King’s Mountain in October 1780, winning a major victory of the American Revolutionary war against British loyalists. It is also worth noting that William and John Crockett never forgot their kidnapped brother and found him 17 years later and bought him back from some Cherokee traders. Patriotism and loyalty seem to run deep in the DNA of the Crockett family, a trait that will serve Stephen well in the TXSG.

Being a distant relative of the Alamo hero was a point of teasing for a young Stephen Crockett growing up, listening to the ballad of Davy Crockett sung by his peers far too often (even though he had never seen the TV show). However, that relationship to Davy and its significance never really took hold in Stephen’s mind until he was much older. It was when he moved to Austin and visited the Capitol and saw the ‘Heroes of the Alamo’ monument featuring Davy Crockett on the Capitol grounds that he said it became a bit surreal. "I still have trouble sometimes wrapping my head around the level of importance or significance that is attributed to him, and realizing that it’s based on that statue in a lot of ways, positioning him as THE hero of the Texas Revolution,” Stephen Crockett says. "Even now, it’s humbling to think about that."

Stephen was born and raised in Texas and attended college at USC in Los Angeles where he earned his degree in civil engineering. Eventually making his way to Austin, Stephen began volunteering once a week as a driver for the “Meals on Wheels” program there. Stephen also had a strong interest in SCUBA diving and attained his Rescue Divers’ certification from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). He discovered the TXSG through a co-worker who was a guard member, who told him about the TXSG and its dive teams.

“I enjoy giving back, and I also love adventure and pushing my limits, and diving with the TXSG seems to fit right in with both of those things,” Crockett says. At 33 years of age, Stephen is not yet married so he has quite a bit of free time on his hands and wanted to find “interesting and fulfilling ways to spend the time that isn't wasteful.” Stephen also serves as a volunteer teaching English for the Refugee Services of Texas.

Stephen is not the only Crockett to continue the tradition of military service to his state and country. Stephen’s grandfather, Charles Richard Crockett (or Richard Charles as the family called him) joined the United States Air Force after graduating from the University of Arkansas, serving as a JAG Officer. He went on to practice law for over 50 years. Stephen also has two uncles who served in the armed services. James Crockett served in the United States Army and his brother Robert served in the United States Marine Corps. His 3rd great-grandfather, William Sevier Crockett, was a Private in Co. A, 5th Regiment, East Tennessee Infantry of the Union Army in the Civil War. His 6^th great-grandfather, William Crockett, was an Ensign in the American Revolutionary War. Answering the call to duty appears to be a family tradition.

David “Davy” Crockett was a pioneer in the early days of our union. He joined the Tennessee militia and was active in fighting in the Creek War, but also showed his leadership by providing for the soldiers, and by hunting wild game for them to eat. He progressed into public service by becoming a commissioner in Lawrence Co., Tennessee, and was soon appointed Justice of the Peace by the state legislature in 1817. In March of 1818 he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 57th Regiment of the Tennessee Militia and in 1821 ran and won a seat in the Tennessee General Assembly. After an unsuccessful run for the United States House of Representatives, Crockett won the seat in 1826 and was re-elected in 1828. In 1830 he was the only member of the Tennessee delegation to oppose Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, which cost him the next election. However, he ran again and served in Congress until 1835. 

On November 1st, 1835, Davy and three other men left for Texas to explore and find a homestead. On the day he left, witnesses remember him wearing his hunting suit and the famed coonskin cap. Crockett arrived in Texas in January of 1836 and swore his oath as a volunteer to Texas on January 14. He arrived at the Alamo on February 8th and by the 25th of February he had already entered the armed conflict with General Santa Anna’s Army. Bolstered by an early 90-minute victory against the Mexican Army, Crockett was sent by Lt. Colonel William Travis, along with two others, to find Fannin’s Texian reinforcements and led them back through Mexican lines to the Alamo on March 4^th. On March 6th, just before dawn, the Battle of the Alamo began and within 90 minutes it was over; and all the defenders were dead. 

In the years since, Davy Crockett has become a larger than life figure, his name known around the world. His legacy has become part of Texas and American folklore. The name Crockett invokes the spirit of the citizen-soldier - a spirit that is alive today in the TXSG, a branch of the Texas Military Department with its roots stretching all the way back to Stephen Austin's first call-to-arms to defend Texas.  184 years later, the TXSG welcomes another Crockett, ready to serve Texas and his fellow Texans. 

By WO1 David Brown, Texas State Guard

History will record that in the spring of 2020, a silent, invisible killer attacked on the home front.  

Even before the Governor officially activated Texas Military forces on March 17, members of the Texas State Guard (TXSG) were taking steps to get ready for what most could see coming: a statewide deployment to help combat COVID-19.   

Conceived as a state defense force, one could say the TXSG was built for a battle like this.  But not even veterans of past disasters could expect what fighting the coronavirus would entail.  

“Unpredictability and dealing with the unknowns - that’s the biggest thing,” CPT Cyla Barron explained. Barron has served in the U.S. Marine Corps, the National Guard, and in several different posts in the TXSG, including Battle Captain in the TXSG Emergency Operations Center (TEOC), during Hurricane Harvey.  Now Barron is back in the TEOC, the operational hub for the State Guard, monitoring oversized screens with the latest numbers of coronavirus cases, tracking potential hot-spots  and helping to coordinate the deployment of TXSG troops with liaison officers from the Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air National Guard and Texas Department of Emergency Management. 

“Harvey was fairly predictable.  We could see it coming and stay one step ahead.  Now (with COVID-19) we have to monitor and respond to a constantly changing deadly threat and at the same time protect ourselves from getting ill.” 

On another screen in the TEOC, Barron, Asst. Battle Captain WO1 Jon Gimble and Battle NCO SGT Travis Ross tracked the progress of a team of TXSG engineers, evaluating potential medical overflow facilities in northeast Texas.  The TXSG team was part of a Joint Engineer Task Force which included specialists from the National Guard and the State Construction Management and Facilities office.

“The TXSG brings added value in a situation like this,” said LTC Cecil Bell, the recently appointed Chief of Engineers for the TXSG.  In addition to serving in the TXSG, Bell is a Texas State Representative, and a licensed expert in water infrastructure construction. “If you’re an engineer in the State Guard, you have an advanced degree, you’re a working professional, you have licensed state certification; what we drill on is what we do in our day jobs.”   

As a practical demonstration of that added value, potential medical overflow facilities were evaluated using a checklist designed by a TXSG engineer, Bell said. “That’s part of the uniqueness of our role in this fight against COVID-19: we have a skill set that includes many years of real-world facility operations and maintenance know-how.”  His observation echoes the ideal of the highly trained citizen-solider at the core of the TXSG.  

Though proficient in and tested on FEMA best practices, PFC Patrick Mejia, a Guardsman based in San Antonio, could hardly have anticipated what the fight against COVID-19 would throw at him: a constant parade of oversized 18-wheelers bringing in and hauling out personal protection equipment (PPE) to the Texas Department of Emergency Management warehouse in the ‘Alamo City’.  

By day, Mejia works as a recruiter for the Texas ChalleNGe Academy, a tuition-free education program for teens disengaged with traditional school, sponsored by the National Guard. Since his deployment on April 3rd, Mejia has put his work and home life on hold to serve his fellow Texans in 7-day-a-week shifts, from 0400 to 1600.  His job involves warehouse logistics for items such as face masks, gloves, gowns, hand sanitizer, disinfectant, blankets, and other critical goods in short supply statewide.  

As soon as Mejia could get a new load of pallets numbered and labelled, notice would come in from the State Operations Center (SOC) in Austin to prepare for a pick-up.  Working alongside members of the Army National Guard and the Texas A&M Forest Service, Mejia and fellow Guardsman PVT Ricardo Espinoza would help load up shipments for delivery to hospitals, armories and local institutions in Lubbock, Dallas, El Paso, and all points in between.  

“Working in the warehouse, sometimes you feel like you’re in a bubble. It hurts because you know there are people who need this equipment, these are your neighbors and the numbers are growing,” Mejia said.  “And there’s the fatigue, the lack of sleep...then you see on the (TV) news a delivery being made to a hospital...and it’s like “hey! That’s my writing on the side of that pallet!”  

Farther east down I-10, SGT Eseil Hernandez and PFC Johnathan Williams of the TXSG 2^nd Brigade were working in warehouse support operations alongside colleagues in the 1^st Squadron, 112^th Regiment of the Texas Army National Guard providing assistance to the greater Houston area. Facing time pressures to get critical medical supplies into the distribution chain, Guardsmen employed technology originally designed for shelter and evacuation missions. “I use the same equipment I trained with to scan people and their belongings (during evacuations) to keep track of essential medical supplies that can be quickly dispatched from our distribution point as needed,” Hernandez explained. 

“I don’t mind stepping away from my job to be of service to the community,” Williams added.  “It is about the oath I took when I enlisted.”

It’s about Texans helping Texans.  It’s about making a difference.

“At a time of unprecedented uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I could not be more proud of the men and women of the Texas State Guard,” said Robert J. Bodisch, Sr, Commanding General, TXSG.  “This is not a normal mission, but these are not normal times.  From our medical professionals, engineer teams, logistics and staging, operations and administrative personnel, and many others, the TXSG has proven once again we are always ready and able to answer the call to serve our fellow Texans.  We are also recruiting new members and those who need a purpose and a chance to belong to something greater than themselves.”

“It is exhausting, the long hours,” TEOC Battle Captain Barron concedes, “but it makes me so proud to be here, working alongside people who come from all walks of private life bringing their experiences to the table to help their Texas neighbors...there’s a true sense of camaraderie.” 

And one might add, even in these trying times, a sense of something more.  A sense of: Duty. Honor. Texas.

Story by Chaplain Richard Brunk, 2nd Brigade, Texas State Guard
 

In April I wrote: “Most everything about COVID-19 is awful. How can we have high morale during such a unique, ongoing and devastating crisis?”
Well, the following is a story about some of our 2BDE Soldiers lifting my family’s morale!

It started with a casual comment. I was speaking with Staff Sgt. Gregory Illich about ways to match up Soldiers with skills with Soldiers and their Families with needs. One Soldier said he could tutor Chemistry and Math for kids having to homeschool due to COVID-19. Another Soldier offered to help a Soldier with some damage at their home.

So, what was the casual comment? I mentioned that my wife and I had been busy picking up debris from a storm that ran through our community. While many of our neighbors lost 50- and 60-foot oak trees, we got away pretty easy. Our portable greenhouse had been flipped over and destroyed, so we had a lot of repotting to do, fortunately we saved most of the plants. We still had a big pile of branches as well as some tree limbs that needed pruned, along with some other cleanup work.

Illich said that he would come up Saturday morning to help and that he would bring his chainsaw. Saturday morning, he knocked on my door and told me that there might be a few more Soldiers coming to help. A few turned into ten, with chainsaws and loads of tools. Everyone was masked, gloved and following COVID-19 guidelines and safety rules.

In a few hours, I had a stack of firewood, dead and damaged trees and limbs cut away, and after a lot of hard work, a clear path to my fence for the first time since I moved in five years ago. Dangerous debris is now safely disposed of. We had no injuries, lots of hard work, great training on equipment and problem solving as entangled old fencing and posts were making the whole thing challenging.

My wife, Kathy and I are very thankful for the Soldiers of Second Brigade who volunteered their time: Pvt. Steven Kahla, Pvt. Tyler Frankum, Cpl. Michael Prior, Sgt. Danel Emert, Pvt. Sean Mai, Pvt. Eric Hoffman, 1st Lt. Matthew Bramanti, and Col. Edwin Grantham. Thanks also to Sgt. 1st Class Gordon, and Staff Sgt. Alberto Dominguez for their help in organizing volunteers.

We are blessed to have troops of all ranks, including Commanders and leaders, from the company level right up to the State, that care about each Soldier. You and your family are indeed the lifeblood of the TXSG and a huge resource for the State of Texas. Thank you!

Story by Charles E. Spirtos, Texas Military Department Public Affairs

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas National Guard is mobilized throughout the state to help expand health care capacity during the COVID-19 threat.

Gov. Greg Abbott activated the Texas National Guard March 17 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The activation included three joint task force brigades, the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and 176th Engineer Brigade, which will lead 10 general support units positioned across Texas. 

Abbott held a news conference with Maj. Gen. Tracy R. Norris, the adjutant general of Texas, at the Texas State Capitol and said the Guard would provide medical, logistics, transportation and communication support for health care.

The Guard's primary role is expanding health care capacity in Texas. This includes increasing access to supplies and equipment, as well as staffing capacity and the number of available hospital beds.

Members of the 6th Civil Support Team headquartered at Camp Mabry in Austin examined donated personal protective equipment like N95 respirator masks and latex gloves to make sure the material was undamaged and effective.

Maj. Sean M. Thurmer, deputy commander of the 6th Civil Support Team, said the trust the state put in the team was earned during years of working alongside the Texas Department of Emergency Management.

"The 6th Civil Support Team has responded to many incidents in Texas and has developed relationships with response partners with whom they work," said Thurmer.

Effective equipment will be distributed to medical facilities and hospitals treating patients with COVID-19. By maintaining the adequate supply of this equipment, the Texas Military Department is ensuring medical providers can continue serving the public while also protecting themselves.

The Guard's 176th Engineer Brigade is also finding and equipping non-medical sites where patients can be treated if hospitals run out of room.

"While hospitals will remain the primary location to treat and care for those in need, we are ensuring that Texas is prepared for any possible scenario in which current hospital capacity is exhausted. This joint initiative with the Texas Military Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will expand the care capacity in communities across Texas," said Abbott.

The first of these sites will be the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, which can accept up to 250 patients with room to expand if needed.

Norris said members of the Guard are also working with local agencies to establish drive-through COVID-19 test sites throughout the state, equipped and staffed by local medical staff and logistics experts in the Guard.

"We are Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen, we truly are your neighbors and are deeply invested in keeping our friends and fellow Texans safe," said Norris. "This is our home, too, and together we will get through this difficult time."

Story By: WO1 David Brown, TXSG HQ Ass’t PAO

AUSTIN, Texas -- This past Christmas, one of the most popular and best-known outreach programs of the Texas State Guard reached a new benchmark.  During the 2019 season, the Texas State Guard (TXSG) Toy Drive collected over 100,000 toys, which brought a smile to the faces of hospitalized and homeless children across the Lone Star State.
 
Sgt. First Class John Gately, the Young Heroes of the Guard Toy Drive Coordinator for the last 6 years, reports that the final tally by Christmas Day was 104,604 toys, with a retail value of over $500,000.  Since its inception in 2009, Young Heroes of the Guard has collected and distributed more than 349,000 toys.
 
This is an all-time record for the 11-year-old project, founded by TXSG Chaplains. The initial success of the Toy Drive in North Texas captured the attention – and the imagination – of officials at TXSG Headquarters, who, for Christmas 2014, expanded the program statewide.  Last Christmas, children’s’ hospitals and shelters from Galveston to El Paso received toys collected through this program.

Making this effort even more remarkable is the enormous amount of logistical support work put in by individual citizen-Soldiers of the TXSG.  In addition to their routine Guard duties and their obligations to their own jobs and families, some organizers, such as Lt. Steven Coder of Godley, Texas, put in six to eight hours a day from mid-October up to Christmas Eve. Lt. Coder’s work included organizing the many moving pieces that make such a project successful.

“When you give that child a toy and you watch her face light up”, Coder says, “you’ll understand why we do it.  This toy drive brings such joy—not just to the kids, but to everyone involved, and it lasts long after the holidays.” 

More recently, the program has developed a partnership with the retail store “fiveBelow working together to bring hope and joy to Texas communities. For the third year in a row, members of the TXSG took up positions outside “fiveBelow ” stores across Texas, asking shoppers to make a toy donation on their way out.  Other members of the TXSG, including their families and supporters in the community, set up collection boxes outside businesses and churches.  Hess Corporation, the energy company with offices in Houston, donated 3,000 of its famous toy trucks to the effort.

In early December, the toys were gathered at local armories, sorted into age groups, and distributed to hospitals and shelters across Texas.

When asked, will it be possible to match the spectacular success of the 2019 TXSG Toy Drive next December? 

Coder sighs and cracks a knowing smile.  “We’re already getting to work on that!”

Story by Staff Sgt. Gregory Illich

Tropical Storm Imelda made landfall at Freeport, Texas, and dumped 43 inches of rain on the Texas Southeast Gulf Coast over five days from September 17-21, 2019.   Many people on the Gulf Coast, still recovering from Hurricane Harvey just two years before, found themselves again in the crosshairs of the massive storm.
 
Imelda hit the Texas bayous and low-lying areas of Jefferson and Orange Counties the hardest.  Emergency responders and local emergency management organizations acted quickly to initiate rescue efforts and set up emergency shelters.  Although the danger of Imelda slowly subsided, the impact of the storm continued to be a threat as floodwaters persisted.

As residents began to cope with the loss of property, electricity, drinking water, and necessities, county emergency officials requested further help from the state.  Within twenty-four hours of the requests, the Texas State Guard activated 182 members and moved into the “strike zone” to deliver supplies to those in need. 

“The Texas State Guard received the request on September 20  and guard members were on scene the following day working alongside the Texas Army National Guard which delivered water and needed equipment and the Texas Forestry Service which also supplied equipment and forklift operators to replenish loading points,” stated 1st Sgt. Terry Lene, Texas State Guard Military District Coordinator for Jefferson County.

Working alongside the Texas State Forest Service and local volunteers, the Texas State Guard established six distribution points in Jefferson and Orange counties supporting the cities of Hamshire, Fannett, Nome, Bevil Oaks, Vidor, and Mauriceville. Other Texas State Guard units were staged at an emergency operation center established in Woodville in order to support boat rescues and provide medical support.
  
This truly was an example of Texans serving Texans in every way.  Seeing emergency responders, volunteers, local organizations, and the Texas Military Department working together in a partnership meant that our mission would get done efficiently and effectively.  The residents who came through our distribution points were grateful for the help and were an inspiration for their resiliency,” remarked Col. John Diggs, Tactical Emergency Operations Center, Texas State Guard.

At each distribution point, Texas State Guard members safely directed vehicles and some pedestrians into the distribution lanes where hundreds of packs of bottled water and bagged ice were stacked and ready.  As vehicles drove up the designated lanes, lining up much like an assembly line, guard members were able to load three vehicles simultaneously with water and ice while the drivers waited inside their vehicles.  Local partner agencies such as area food banks and the American Red Cross also provided food and cleaning supplies.  Other donated supplies including baby supplies were distributed as needed.
   
Guard members assisted more than 10,000 families at the six distribution points.  They distributed 22,728 cases of bottled water and 7,632 bags of ice to 9,729 vehicles.
 
Robert Viator, Orange County Precinct 4 Commissioner, expressed his appreciation for the support of the Texas State Guard.  “The Texas State Guard helped our citizens through this disaster.  I don’t think we could make it without the assistance of these men and women who serve our country and serve us and our community.”
 

Story by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Janet Schmelzer, Texas State Guard

The Texas Defense Guard, created by the Texas Legislature in 1941 and renamed the Texas State Guard in 1943, was the state military unit responsible for protecting Texas, its people and property during World War II.  With the National Guard federalized, the Texas Defense Guard was on the front line to respond to attacks by foreign enemies, domestic civil disturbances and natural and man-made disasters.  Within a few months of its official existence, the Texas Defense Guard would face its first big test as a defense force.

In the Caribbean Sea near Cuba, a tropical disturbance started brewing on Sept. 15, 1941.  As the storm moved into the Gulf of Mexico, weather conditions were conducive to a tropical depression forming.  By Sept. 21, the storm had grown into a hurricane bearing down on the Texas Gulf Coast, headed for Port O’Connor or Matagorda.  On Sept. 23, the storm made an unexpected turn, placing Freeport, Houston and surrounding areas in its path.

Preparing for the hurricane, local authorities along the Texas Gulf Coast began requesting the support of the Texas Defense Guard.  On Sept. 23, the Guard activated 700 members, the first being from the 2nd, 7th, 22nd and 48th Marine battalions and the 2nd Squadron, Aviation Branch.  Battalion and squadron commanders ordered their men to bring their personal sidearms while the Guard would provide Enfield rifles with fixed bayonets and shotguns.  The Texas Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. John Watt Page, instructed all commanders that “their mission is to aid and support in every way possible civil authorities.”

When the hurricane made landfall, bringing rising tides, heavy rain and destructive winds up to 95 mph, Houston officials knew they did not have a sufficient number of policemen, firemen or city employees to patrol the city and protect property and people. On Sept. 23, the mayor and police chief assigned guard members from the 48th Battalion to patrol downtown on foot, ride along in Houston Police Department squad cars or observe from Houston Electric Company buses.  Armed with rifles with bayonets and sidearms, they protected department stores from looters.  At the coliseum, which was a shelter for evacuees, they cleared streets where sightseers caused traffic congestion by driving around staring at evacuees arriving on trucks.  Keeping streets clear around the coliseum was especially urgent because National Guard convoys were bringing soldiers and airmen from airfields and armories threatened by the storm.   

One sergeant-in-charge commended his men for their selfless service during the storm.    “Not one of them flinched from their duty and were eager to step off the bus in water up to their knees to reach their stations of duty,” he said.

The 2nd Battalion patrolled downtown Houston, stood guard to protect people from stepping on downed high-tension wires and broken glass and helped fifty women and children seeking shelter at the Houston Light Guard Armory.  

The 22nd Battalion braved wind, rain and flooding to make dramatic rescues near the Houston municipal airport.  Two guard members drove fifty miles to rescue a woman trapped in her home.  Notified that a family was stranded in a car two blocks from the airport, five guard members went into action.  Combatting the 95 mph wind and tying themselves together, they pushed forward on foot.  As they made their way down the road, they saw a man trying to hold on to a tree branch to keep from drowning in a flooded ditch.  One guard member put the man on his shoulders and carried him back to the airport.  The rest continued on, having to crawl as the force of the wind made walking impossible.  They finally reached the family of nine men, women and children.  They could not take all of them at once.  The guard members made two trips during the rescue, carrying four children on their shoulders on the first rescue and on the second carrying two women and two elderly men while a younger man held on to the ropes of the guard members.  

In another rescue near the airport, guard members received a message that a family was in grave danger as flood waters rushed into their home six blocks away.  Guard members struggled down the road on foot in rain so heavy and wind so fierce that they could not see or breathe.  This rescue team first stopped to rescue a boy and his grandfather who had suffered a heart attack.  Putting the old man on his shoulders, one guard member with the boy holding on to his belt returned to the airport.  Once there, the guard member administered first aid while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.  The rest of the rescue team, wading through flooded prairies and roads in waist-high water, found the house and brought the family members to the airport.  In all, the 22nd Battalion at the airport rescued 100 people between Sept. 23 and 24.

The 43rd and 9th battalions in Port Arthur mobilized to stop traffic at the seawall, maintain order in hotel lobbies and protect local schools filled with hundreds of evacuees.  At the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works guard members kept watch over the shipyards and assisted workers trying to save equipment and materials from flooding waters.  

Although escaping the impact of the storm, Corpus Christi had requested the 28th Battalion to protect downtown and north beach businesses from looters.  Guard members with Enfield rifles closed the Nueces Bay causeway and prevented traffic at the seawall and water gates.

Radio operators from the Texas Defense Guard maintained communications by radio throughout the storm.  At Palacios, 1st Lt. J. C. Johnson of Houston, who served in the radio division, worked throughout the night of Sept. 23 and early morning of Sept. 24 and was one of only a few radios that continuously broadcast along the Texas coast.

On the morning of Sept. 24, the final mission of the Texas Defense Guard was to survey the coast and report back the damage.  The 2nd Squadron, Aviation Branch, received the mission.  Capt. N. E. Meador piloted the first plane to leave any Houston airport for the previous thirty hours.  He flew over oil fields, several towns and airfields, such as Freeport and Ellington Field.  He reported that fields and structures along the coast sustained significant damage and flooding, the road to Freeport was impassable and the town of Kemah was under water.  The second pilot, Capt. W. H. Cocke, flew over Houston and the lowlands, Liberty, Galveston Bay and Galveston.  The third pilot, Capt. Bernie Groce, checked out Kemah because the Red Cross had sent a message that people needed rescuing, but he found no one there.   All pilots relayed reports of total devastation.

The Texas Defense Guard ended its mission on Sept. 24.   In their first disaster response, guard members proved they were ready as a state defense force.  They were proud, and their morale soared.  They had earned the respect of the civilian authorities, local law enforcement and the public.  “I cannot speak too highly of the work of everyone concerned.  If the Texas Defense Guard had not mobilized and contributed their service, we would not have been able to handle the situation alone,” remarked Houston Chief of Police Ray Ashworth.

Texas Defense Guard members were men of selfless service, bravery and dedication to serving fellow Texans during the 1941 hurricane. Those qualities remain in the character and soul of every guard member who serves today in the Texas State Guard.  

Story by Andrew R. Smith, Texas Military Department Public Affairs

Soldiers and Airmen attached to guard and reserve elements constantly have to balance military service, a fulltime job, education and family life.  At times this combination of tasks may seem overwhelming.  Fortunately, services exist to assist these hard working service members and their families.  While most of these people know about benefits such as tax free shopping at the Post Exchange and the education benefits of the GI Bill, there exists an entire support system that offers services far beyond those.

The Family Support Services center offers everything from entertainment functions to education classes and benefits workshops so families will be well versed in what benefits they have and how to best use them. 

“Family Support Services offers cradle to grave assistance for guardsmen and civilian employees,” said Shandra Sponsler, Deputy Branch Manager of Family Support Servicer on Camp Mabry. “We offer pretty much everything but pay and MOS training for Soldiers. Even as Soldiers reach retirement age we have programs like resume writing and interviewing classes and the ‘Citizen-Soldier for Life’ program to guide them as they move past the military.”

Citizen-Soldier for Life is an Army National Guard program that offer career readiness support and financial training to National Guard members, their families, veterans and retirees.  They offer events to help those veterans find jobs in the civilian work force as well as professional networking.

The Soldier Support Service Center, located at Camp Mabry, in Austin, also offers services for retired persons, such as issuing new I.D. cards and copies of military records for retirees and dependents. 

Family Support Services also works with many local partners like Hero’s Night Out, Combat Combined Arms, Operation Homefront USA and the YMCA to put on local events to educate service members and families and provide services. Many of these events are aimed at entertaining and providing a sense of community for the children of deployed service members.

“Some of our most useful and most popular services are Tricare healthcare for service members and families, behavioral health counselors and assistance with Veterans Administration benefits,” said Staff Sgt. Jean-Pierre Sanders, noncommissioned officer in charge of Yellow Ribbon programs at the Family Support Services Center.

The Yellow Ribbon program is another major benefit available to veterans that assists with the cost of education at select universities and trade schools.

“One service I would suggest people take advantage of is our Yellow Ribbon events.  At these events we have information about all of our available resources.  Beyond the obvious ones, there some unseen benefits,” said Sanders. “I often see family members of deployed service members meet with other families, share stories and advice and network with one another.  The support they offer each other us something unique and valuable.”

Even organizations like the Army Air Force Exchange (AAFES) who run the Post Exchange (PX) is opened to all active and retired service members as well as 100 percent disabled veterans and families of all eligible groups. PX restraints are open to all. A portion of all AAFES profits go back to troops through donations to Morale and Welfare Recreation Programs.

Many of the support services such as the counseling are available over the phone 24-hours a day year round. Offices are located all over Texas in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Weslaco, Tyler and El Paso.

More information about these services can be found at https://tmd.texas.gov/family-support-service. 

Story and Photos by Staff Sgt. Eric Walden, Texas State Guard Public Affairs

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Texas State Guard’s involvement in Operation Lone Star.  Operation Lone Star is a collaborative medical services project that unites state and county health and human service agencies, the Texas Military Department, local service groups and volunteers in the largest public health humanitarian effort in the country. OLS is a real-time, large-scale emergency preparedness exercise that provides medical service and disaster recovery training to state agencies and personnel while addressing the medical needs of thousands of underserved Texas residents.

Each summer since 1998, OLS provides medical care at no cost to residents of the Rio Grande Valley. For many residents, it is the only medical care they receive all year. For elements of the Texas State Guard and its Texas Medical Brigade/Medical Component Command, it is a vital training mission that offers hands-on experience in mass medical care in partnership with local public health authorities. For local residents, it is the gift of health–or of life itself.

The medical services OLS provides include immunizations, blood pressure checks, diabetes screenings, hearing and vision exams, physicals for students, medical evaluations and dental services.

Each year approximately 200 military staff members, more than 200 state and county employees and countless volunteers give their time and talents to make OLS a reality. Annually, OLS provides some 60,000 medical services to more than 12,000 Texas residents.

For the Texas Medical Brigade, OLS is its primary Annual Training event where these highly trained, licensed and certified health care professionals dedicate more than a week of their time. During the intensive training exercise, they set up Medical Points of Distribution and prepare for state and local emergencies, while providing an enormous humanitarian service to the people of Texas. 

The TMB/MCC is one of the four components of the Texas State Guard. It was established in March 2003 as the Texas State Guard Medical Reserve Corps, a component of the Texas Military Department under the Adjutant General of Texas and at the direction of the Governor of Texas. It was reorganized as the TMB/MCC in May 2007 and has an authorized end strength of 350 medical and support personnel statewide. The TMB/MCC remains a Medical Reserve Corps unit designated by the U.S. Surgeon General.

The TMB/MCC serves as a regional medical response team to assist in Texas public health emergencies, including biological terrorism, epidemics and disasters. The mission is to provide licensed medical personnel and technical support expertise in response to large-scale disasters, supplementing public health authorities of the Texas Department of State Health Services. The TMB/MCC also provides medical care to military personnel of the Texas Military Department and first aid support to select community events.

Many of these medical military staff return year after year to provide services to communities that always welcome assistance with basic healthcare services. Since there are multiple locations in the Rio Grande Valley where MPODs are located, such as Brownsville, Mission, Laredo and other Rio Grande Valley locations, military healthcare providers may be assigned to new locations each year. Despite this movement, OLS has forged relationships between many physicians and clientele, relationships deep enough for clients to track down physicians they have seen before in order to see them at their new locations. 

Brig. Gen. Marco Coppola, DO, the Chief Medical Officer for OLS 2019 relayed a story where he saw the same client for three years in a row. The man, who was initially diagnosed as obese and suffering from high blood pressure, sought out Dr. Coppola each year to update his medications and receive an update on his progress. In the third year, the man had lost so much weight he was no longer obese, and his blood pressure had returned to normal. This relationship between the client and his OLS healthcare provider has turned the man's life around.

Col. Jonathan MacClements, MD, Surgeon General of the Texas State Guard, had one of the most unusual cases. Last year at OLS, a man presented a disfiguring skin disorder. Dr. MacClements was able to diagnose the skin disease as leprosy and worked to ensure follow-up care of the man during the year. This resulted in the man returning to see him again this year and evaluate his progress in alleviating the debilitating disease. 

Col. Robert McBroom, MD, an infectious disease specialist out of Wichita Falls, Texas, recalls a young student client who initially came in for a sports physical, which is a common need for students participating in sports in their local schools. Her experience at OLS led her to return for the last three years not only for continued care under Dr. McBroom, but also as a volunteer herself, providing translation services to clients and forging new relationships between clients and their OLS healthcare experience. 

Texas State Guard providers create much more than a single healthcare experience; they create relationships where clients return year after year to follow up on their healthcare needs. These relationships exemplify a trust between the Texas State Guard medical providers not only with the local community, but also with individual clients. 

“This speaks volumes for the importance of OLS and why the efforts of the Texas Medical Brigade are instrumental for the health and well-being of the citizens of Texas,” Brig. Gen. Coppola said.

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 edition of The Dispatch, on page 14.

Story by: Sgt. 1st Class John Gately

For 20 years the Texas State Guard has been part of Operation Lone Star.  Over those years, these men and women have helped countless numbers of people and brought medical services to many that could not afford it.

This year started no different than any other year, but by the end of the day, a new family would be created.

This mission took a turn when a sweet, friendly but mischievous puppy found its way into the hearts of many at the Brownsville Medical Point of Distribution.

This little puppy was eager to meet every Soldier and patient as she wandered the MPOD. Of course, no one could pass up spending a little time with her.

After a long day of wandering around the MPOD, receiving lots of love and food, the puppy was seen laying down in a shady doorway. Several students watched the puppy and started to think the worst on that very hot day. They summoned a veterinarian from the Public Health Service that was attached to Remote Area Medical, one of the many providers of Operation Lone Star, to check on the puppy to make sure she was well.  After examining the puppy, the vet stated the puppy was just worn out and tired from her activities. However, she was in need of care, as she was covered in fleas and ticks and needed a myriad of other things that puppies require.

Several students worried about the puppy’s future as the Brownsville Animal Control was called.  In no time, one of the JROTC students, the RAM vet, and troops from the Texas State Guard came together and a plan was hatched with Brownsville Animal Control.  Animal Control would take the puppy to be spayed and receive all the needed immunizations and care, then JROTC Cadet Emily Cortez and her mother, Ann Erblich, would pick up the puppy and care for it until her new owner, Capt. Diann Mills could take her home.

The Texas State Guard mission is to always help Texans in their time of need, this time, it was a four-legged Texan that needed our help and Texas State Guard was “Equal to the task”!