Arrowhead Soldiers deploy to Afghanistan as trainers

Story by: Spc. Christina Clardy

Posted on: June 21, 2016

Soldiers of the 36th Infantry Division boarded an aircraft at Fort Hood, Texas, on June 11, on their way to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

The 45 Soldiers from the Texas Army National Guard are headed to southern Afghanistan as part of the Train, Advise and Assist (TAA) team, and will join a component of senior leaders from the headquarters of the division who deployed the week prior.

"Our mission is to advise and assist the Afghan National Army and Uniformed Police at the corps level and above," said Lt. Col. Alba Melgar-C'de Baca, a plans officer from the 36th Inf. Div. and senior member of the team. "We will be breaking into three groups and are each going to different locations."

Each candidate for the mission was chosen from a list of volunteers, and were then assessed based on their civilian skills and military experience. More than half of the Soldiers are prior members of Security Forces Advisement Teams who have deployed to Afghanistan before.

"We have an amazing amount of talent in this group," said Melgar-C'de Baca. "We have police officers, coaches, teachers and border security agents, so our team run the gambit across the board with talented, motivated folks who all stepped forward and volunteered."

One of the team members is 2nd Lt. Jake Folgate, who works with at-risk teens at the Texas Challenge Academy in Eagle Lake, Texas. He’s excited to put his law enforcement education and experience into practice overseas. 

"I'm really enthusiastic and passionate about this mission," said Folgate, a 24-year-old graduate of Western Illinois University's Law Enforcement program. "I'm really looking forward to my first deployment and starting this mission with the Afghan Uniformed Police."

For many of the Soldiers, including Folgate, this will be their first deployment overseas. Although it's not necessarily a combat deployment, the team is excited and maybe a little nervous, said Melgar-C'de Baca. But they will have friends around them and no one is going alone, so I think that eases their minds a little bit.

"I know ya'll are the best trained, the best equipped, and are the finest Soldiers in the U.S. Army inventory, bar none, because you are all members of the 36th Inf. Div.," said the Assistant Division Commander for Support of the 36th Inf. Div., Brig. Gen. Rick Noriega, moments before the TAA members boarded the plane. "We wish you the best and salute you for who you are, and what you do. Make us proud.”

Communication Soldiers critical to MIBT success

Story by: Spc. Christina Clardy

Posted on: June 21, 2016

Soldiers from the 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, set up and provided division-wide communication channels during a Multi-Echelon Integrated Brigade Training exercise, June 4-18 at Fort Hood, Texas.

The Texas Army National Guard division serves as the higher headquarters during this Multi-Echelon Integrated Brigade Training (MIBT) exercise for a brigade and several specialized units as they train to meet requirements for their annual training cycle. The exercise will be focused on maneuver-based, decisive action and will include critical gunnery training on various weapons systems. 

"The division's role in this exercise is to act as a higher headquarters for the [Brigade Combat Teams] and other units out in the field," said Maj. Gen. Lester Simpson, commander of the 36th Inf. Div. "Many BCTs are in states that do not have a higher headquarters, so here they can train and practice working with one."

Preparation began months in advance as network, signal and communications teams from the 36th Inf. Div., planned and organized equipment and systems to support the two-week exercise. Nearly 5,000 Soldiers and nine units from the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and the Texas and Mississippi National Guard participated in the training.

"In February, we had a full server refresh and rebuild," said Master Sgt. Brandon Horta, the 36th Inf. Div. Communications Noncommissioned Officer in Charge. "So we did a lot of network reengineering and reconfiguring of the Tactical Mission Command server." 

The command staff from the participating units had concerns about the connectivity of the Army Battle Command Systems required to track and control the moving pieces in the simulated battlespace. 

"Due to the varying fielding schedules, not every unit participating in this exercise had the same versions of the many systems we use to communicate," said Simpson. "Without the same versions, the systems cannot cross talk."

The various U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard units solved this by system tests, double-checking software consistencies and frequent conference calls with each other across six time zones for months in advance. According to Simpson, this early preparation was key for successfully setting up the MIBT and allowed the exercise to kick off with all the units on the same playing field communications-wise.

An advance party of mostly communications Soldiers arrived May 28, and began setting up more than ten types of transmitter and relay systems, the Army Battle Command System, a Tactical Mission Command server and various unit tracking systems.

"The biggest challenge when we got here was the unforgiving terrain [due to the recent severe flooding in and around Fort Hood]," said Horta. "Several units had to move locations and we had to adjust our communication relays and retransmissions sites to provide the best connections."

One site, manned by a dozen Soldiers in rotating shifts, maintained a FM radio retransmission antennae and a High Capacity Line-Of-Sight Radio dish. The dish is a tri-band antennae system that requires line of sight from dish to dish to provide faster data transfer for reconnaissance video and intelligence systems.

"It took us about a day to set up and sync the dish and the FM antenna," said Pfc. Stephen Lewis, a 24-year-old computer information specialist with Signal Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 36th Inf. Div. "The hardest part was keeping the antennas up and linked. The first week, it rain more than half the time we were up there making the ground soft and muddy."

Despite the challenges, the communication Soldiers were able to successfully provide the necessary systems connectivity allowing the operations centers, headquarters units and ground troops to remain in contact throughout the division's portion of the exercise.

For the 36th Inf. Div. staff, the MIBT exercise is the first step in preparing for the division's Warfighter 2018 rotation in eighteen months. Warfighter is multi-year preparation training event culminating in a simulated exercise that allows units from brigade to division to corps, to integrate command systems, and execute large-scale missions and operations.

Texas Army National Guard Receives Excellence Award

Story by: Laura Lopez

Posted: June 21, 2016

AUSTIN, Texas– The 2016 Army Community of Excellence winners were recently announced by the Department of the Army, with the Texas Army National Guard earning third place in the Bronze division. 

An awards ceremony was held at the Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Virginia, May 23, 2016.

“This is a tremendous honor for the Texas Army National Guard and is truly representative of the 18,000 citizen-soldiers who serve state of Texas and the U.S.,” said Brig. Gen. Tracy Norris, Assistant Deputy Adjutant General-Army. “This is definitely an award that encompasses a group effort and, as such, enables us to better serve our fellow Texans.”

The ACOE Award honors the top Army, National Guard and Army Reserve installations which have achieved the highest levels of excellence in building a quality environment, outstanding facilities and superior services.

“The Texas Army National Guard departments have learned that ACOE is more than just a competition; it is about providing a common vocabulary that facilitates an environment of excellence and a continuous process for improvement,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brenda Lopez, G5-Organizational Excellence noncommissioned officer in charge, Texas Army National Guard. “We have also learned the importance of integrating our customers, partners, and workforce into organizational change processes that will have lasting impacts to our organization.”

The ACOE program is an Army Chief of Staff program that uses the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program Criteria for Performance Excellence – an internationally recognized integrated management system – to evaluate installations. The criteria ensures the leadership considers all stakeholders, tailors the post’s processes and resources accordingly, and employs visionary thinking through the application of proven business principles in six distinct, but integrated categories. Those categories include leadership, strategy, customer focus, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus and operations focus. 

The TXARNG has competed in the annual ACOE competition since 1996. Since 2006, the TXARNG has placed in the rankings and been named a gold winner, nationally, six times.

Texas Guardsmen partner with Czech Republic engineers

Story by: Sgt. Elizabeth Pena

Posted: June 21, 2016

FORT HOOD, Texas – Engineers from the Texas Army National Guard’s 386th Engineer Battalion, 551st Multi Role Bridge Company, Czech Republic’s 15th Engineer Regiment and U.S. Army’s 20th Engineer Battalion conducted a Multinational Lumberjack River Exercise, June 21, 2016.

“This is the first time we have worked with an active duty engineer battalion in order to conduct a gap crossing exercise along with the foreign national soldiers,” said Texas Guardsman Lt. Col. Anthony J. Miles, commander for the 386th Eng. Batt.

The Texas National Guard is currently partnered with the Czech Republic and Chile under the State Partnership Program. Through SPP, Guardsmen conduct military-to-military engagements with multinational allies in support of defense security goals.

“It’s an honor to see Czech soldiers exercising alongside American soldiers,” said Petr Gandalovic, Ambassador for Czech Republic, during his visit to Fort Hood. “This is important because we all keep the same values and we all have to be responsible for each other, and the responsibility translates into capability of doing something real.”

Service members coordinated with each other to conduct a wet gap crossing. When a large body of water is blocking ground transportation, this is used to transport military supplies, personnel and or vehicles across a lake or river.

“The concept of the operation was to conduct rafting operations and project combat power across the far shore,” said Capt. Jacob Patterson an operations planner for the 386th Eng. Batt. 

During the exercise, soldiers worked on ground to free-launch bays and bridges into the lake, and conducted air operations to sling load a bridge, several bays and ramps.

“The aircraft is doing airdrops,” said Sgt. Randall McMorris, with the 551st MRBC, non-commissioned officer in charge for the shore portion of the exercise. “We have a landing zone up the road, and they will attach a ramp and boat and drop it in the water.”

Once all the equipment was in the lake, service members connected the bays and ramps to form a floating bridge. Each bridge is made up of five interior bays and two ramps, referred to as a seven float. 

“With that seven float you can push the heaviest piece of army equipment across, said Patterson. “We pushed M113’s, M2A2 Bradley’s, Up-Armored Humvee’s, a buffalo and a husky, which is a route clearance piece of equipment,” said Patterson.

Soldiers built, two bridges to transport equipment across the lake and used real-world conditions as practice for maneuver operations. 

“This year the water levels are much higher than they were last year,” said Patterson. “It’s about 5 to 10 ft. higher than what we experienced last year, so that in itself is a challenge because we’ve had to change the operation multiple times based on Mother Nature and what we were given to work with.”

Last year the Texas National Guard’s 386th Eng. Batt., went to the Czech Republic to conduct a similar exercise using the Czechs’ equipment. This year, they came the U.S.

“It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve had so far,” said 2nd Lt. Josef Kurfirt a platoon leader with the Czech Republic’s 15th Eng. Reg. “The most valuable thing for us is for us to see this bridge, work with their equipment and vehicles, and compare technologies and procedures with them.”

The State Partnership Program has been successfully building relationships for over 20 years. The U.S. currently works with 76 nations around the globe.

“This is extremely important in today’s environment to be able to work with interagency and non-governmental organizations with multinational forces, to include our own,” said Miles. “It’s an excellent training opportunity because that’s how we fight overseas. We get rolled up and assigned to other active duty units so if we can practice that in a peacetime situation it makes it that much easier in a wartime situation.”

49 Texas youth receive fresh start through Texas National Guard's Texas ChalleNGe Academy

Story by: 1st Lt. Alicia Lacy

Posted: June 18, 2016

EAGLE LAKE, Texas (JUNE 18, 2016) – Their faces beamed with pride as the spotlights illuminated them. Some tried to maintain their bearing as they sat upright, but smiles emerged from others as cheers from their families, friends and staff who supported them throughout the residential phase of the Texas ChalleNGe Academy-East echoed in the auditorium.

The day had finally come. They were moments away from being Texas ChalleNGe Academy-East graduates during a ceremony June 18 at Rice Junior High School in Altair.
For the past 22 weeks, the cadets adhered to a strict, military lifestyle, waking up at 4:45 a.m. for physical training, attending classes during the day and turning in at 8:45 every night.

The 49 graduates have their own stories and different circumstances that brought them to the alternative education program, which is a Texas National Guard program under the Texas Joint Counterdrug Taskforce.

For some, it was a last option to reclaim their lives after a few bad decisions or life circumstances led them to dropout of high school or go down a wrong path and fall behind in their school work. 

But regardless of the reason for attending TCA, they all finished with a new lease on life, with several earning their GEDs or high school diplomas or both.

For Samantha Villarreal, 17, of Houston, it was a way for her to not give up on herself and accomplish something she said she thought wouldn’t happen.
Villarreal said she began smoking when she was in the ninth grade. At that time, she started to lose interest in school and wanted to dropout, but because her parents stressed the importance of receiving an education, she began to look for alternative ways to complete high school.

“Dropping out was never an option for me because my parents didn’t graduate,” she said, “so they wanted more for me.”

Into her 10th grade year, Villarreal said she continued to smoke and eventually began a home school program, which she attended for only about a month before quitting that, too.

“I realized I’m here doing nothing and I’m supposed to be doing my school work and I’m not,” she said about the home school.
After traditional high school and home school didn’t work, Villarreal said she began searching for military schools and found the Texas ChalleNGe Academy.
Villarreal went in to the academy missing credits from her sophomore, junior and senior years of high school, but due to her work in the program, she was able to earn her GED and recover most of her credits. Now she only needs three more credits to earn her diploma.

Even though she has a GED, Villarreal said she plans to go back to school and earn her diploma and eventually join the military and go to college.
Andres Martinez, 17, of Brownsville, has a similar story.

Martinez said he started doing drugs and his mom wanted to get him out of that environment.

Martinez said his mom and brother began looking for bootcamps to enroll him. When she found TCA, he said he was open to the idea of attending. 
“I was pretty nervous,” Martinez said, “ but I believed in myself and that I was ready for it.”

While at TCA, staff awarded Martinez the position cadet first sergeant. Staff holds the cadet first sergeant accountable for both student companies.
“I felt proud of myself to know that they were faithful in me to do that position,” he said.

While at TCA, Martinez earned his GED and high school diploma and participated in the Commandant’s Challenge.

Martinez said he plans to join the National Guard and attend college with hopes of becoming a border patrol agent.
“I’m glad I took the opportunity to come here because it helped make me more responsible and take care of my stuff, myself and have discipline to not follow bad influences,” he said. 

Throughout the cycle, TCA cadets were able to meet with and work with Texas Joint Counterdrug Taskforce airmen and soldiers, who helped mentor them through the process.

TCA is a Texas National Guard-sponsored educational program to help at-risk youth between 16 and 18 years old get their lives back on track. The program is completely voluntary and requires a 17 and a half-month commitment.

All cadets must not have any felony convictions and be drug free at the time of entry.

The academy is broken down into the 22-week residential phase and a 12-month, post-residential phase.

TCA focuses on eight core components – academic excellence, health and hygiene, job skills, leadership and followership, life-coping skills, physical fitness, responsible citizenship and service to the community.

In addition to their schoolwork, cadets had the opportunity to participate in other programs like archery, student council, student leadership positions and the Commandant’s Challenge. Students also perform community service every Saturday and have the option to attend church and participate in intramural sports on Sundays.

TCA is a Department of Defense-funded program and receives 25 percent funding from the state. The program is free to Texas residents.
TCA’s West campus in Sheffield plans to graduate 57 cadets June 24 in Iraan.
Both TCAs will begin its fall cycle in July.

Chief of the National Guard Bureau Visits Texas National Guard

Story by: Sgt. Elizabeth Pena 

Posted: June 17, 2016

AUSTIN, Texas – The Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Frank J. Grass visited the Texas National Guard headquarters at Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas, June 17, 2016, along with his senior enlisted advisor Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Mitchell O. Brush. 

During the visit, they met with key leaders from the Texas Air and Army National Guards to discuss operations within the Lone Star State.

“This is the best thing we get to do,” said Grass, “we love getting out and seeing what happens on the ground. The real world is out here and what you do every day. We are very happy to be here.”

Grass currently serves as a military adviser to the President, Secretary of Defense and National Security Council and is the Department of Defense's official channel of communication to the Governors and State Adjutants General on all matters pertaining to the National Guard.

“Just about every trip I take, I find out something that I didn’t know the National Guard was doing around the world,” said Grass.

After an operations brief from Texas National Guard leaders, it was Grass’ turn to brief Texas service members and thank them for their hard work and dedication to country. Grass expressed to Texas Soldiers and Airmen what a great opportunity it’s been to understand the different roles within the Guard and to actually share that information with people at the Capitol and people inside the Army and Air Force.

“You have two state partners, both Czech Republic, as well as Chile, and what you do there is so great. It has become so valuable all the way to the President of the U.S.”

Grass and Brush held a town hall meeting to talk with service members about past, present, and future operations within the National Guard as well as the Guards’ State Partnership Program, which currently includes 70 unique security partnerships with 76 nations globally. 

“It could be any one of our units that are building that mission whether it’s the war fight, the homeland or the partnerships,” said Grass. “Think about what’s happening this year in Texas alone. And between those three missions, says how heavily you’re engaged…everyday there’s something happening.”

With this visit, Grass has officially visited all the states of America. “Fifty four states, territories and the District of Columbia and he saved Texas for last,” said Brush.

As a part of his Texas tour, the leaders went on to visit a local gym where Grass caught up with mixed martial arts fighter and Texas Guardsmen, Sgt. 1st Class Tim Kennedy.

Lastly, Grass took a trip to Fort Hood, Texas, where he met with soldiers from the Mississippi and Kansas National Guard during their annual training.

Story By: David Erinakes, COL, MI, Texas State Guard - Chief, Public Affairs

Posted: June 16, 2016

Col. Dan Flynn was promoted to the rank of brigadier general (TX-Brevet) by Gov. Greg Abbott, Commander in Chief of the Texas Military Department, and Maj. Gen. John F. Nichols, the adjutant general for Texas in a ceremony at the Texas Capitol, in Austin, April 11, 2016.

Flynn began his military career in 1962, as a private in the 36th Infantry Division. He recalled one of his first duties was driving a jeep for Maj. Gen. Everett Simpson, then, commander of the 36th Infantry Division and one of the most decorated soldiers in World War II. There was only one problem: young Pvt. Flynn didn’t know how to drive. After hearing from his sergeant on that matter, Flynn decided a full-time position was probably not for him. However, his commitment to Texas and to the Unites States motivated Flynn to stay involved in the military and he joined the Texas State Guard in 2005.

During his tenure, Flynn served in a variety of positions and is most proud of helping Texas through the experience of multiple deployments in support of disaster management in the state, increasing readiness and mission success. 

"I could not have been more grateful than to finish my military career with such a high honor and I want to thank Maj. Gen. Nichols, Maj. Gen. Betty and Maj. Gen. Bodisch for their support to Texas and to the Governor, I will always be deeply appreciative and never forget this day," said Flynn.

Flynn has also had many other achievements during his service. He was a long-term bank examiner, Deputy Banking Commissioner, County Judge of Van Zandt County and holds the position of State Representative in House District 2 covering Van Zandt, Hunt and Hopkins counties in East Texas. In his capacity as a State Representative, Flynn is also Chairman of Pensions in the Texas House of Representatives and Chairman of the National Conference of State Legislators Defense Task Force.

The governor also recognized Flynn’s wife, Susan, during the ceremony, by honoring her with a Yellow Rose of Texas for her efforts and sacrifices in support of Texas.

Story by: Spc. Stefan Wray, Spc. Matthew Bramanti, and Sgt. Greg Illich, Texas State Guard 

Posted: June 17, 2016

HARLINGEN, Texas - The Texas State Guard is ready this hurricane season. In a major training exercise, over 300 guardsmen from each component of the State Guard learned firsthand how to conduct a massive hurricane evacuation during a large-scale training exercise in the Rio Grande Valley, June 6 - 9, 2016.

"This exercise was a tremendous training and coordination opportunity among the Texas Military Department and emergency management agencies," said Texas State Guard Brig. Gen. Howard N. Palmer, Jr., commander, Army Component Command. "When a significant event occurs, the Texas State Guard will apply the lessons learned at this exercise and will be fully prepared for deployment to assist and support the citizens of Texas."

The Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas Military Department Domestic Operations Task Force planned this exercise to test the ability and readiness to evacuate persons by bus and aircraft out of the Rio Grande Valley in the event of a hurricane strike.

Working with service members and employees from the Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air National Guard, Texas State Guard, multiple local and state emergency agencies and the American Red Cross, state emergency management tested the use of aircraft as a mode of evacuation of medical evacuees for the first time, while also providing medical attention and sheltering operations to mock hurricane victims.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that in a major hurricane emergency 30,000 civilians would need to be evacuated from The Valley, making the ability to evacuate and track thousands of people efficiently and effectively is important to emergency management operations.

State Guard participation in the exercise and in a real-world state emergency is invaluable, said Lee Schnell, a section administrator for the Texas Division of Emergency Management. "Without the State Guard, this doesn't happen."

Texas State Guardsmen supported several areas of the exercise, including emergency tracking trainers, Texas Operations Center members, command and control members, medical observers, mock evacuees and search-and-rescue victims.

The first phase of the four-day operation was the movement of the soldiers to various locations around the state. Using this as an opportunity to train, Guardsmen followed standard military operation procedures throughout the transportation process, practicing communication networking with partner agencies along the route.

Upon arrival in Harlingen, the soldiers checked-in through a new in-process and out-process system rolled out for the first time by the Texas Military Department.

Right away, soldiers trained on the Texas Emergency Tracking Network, a tool Texas State Guardsmen often use to support sheltering operations following large-scale evacuations, According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, this tracking system allows the state operations center to in-process every evacuee, keep track of evacuees as they are transported to shelters in other parts of the state, and track medical assets.  

It also helps to reunite family members, comforts evacuees that their loved ones are safe, and saves lives.  Even evacuated pets are tracked by the system so that pet owners can also be reunited with their pets.

"The new evacuation tracking system that we are training on is very intuitive,” said Texas State Guard Staff Sgt. Cheryl Lemmings, 1st Battalion, 8th Regiment. “It's a good feeling to know that we are preparing to help others in a time of crisis."

After a day of training, many of the guardsmen switched gears and participated in the medical evacuation exercise role playing evacuees.

They received wrist bands and were in-processed through the emergency tracking network just as evacuees would be in a real evacuation, many also receiving medical treatment from Texas Army and Air National Guardsmen for mock injuries. Following check in, they boarded busses for the Valley International Airport in Harlingen and went through the Transportation Security Administration security checks before taking Texas Air National Guard C-130 flights back to Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

"This is a true joint exercise with all the different agencies working together," said Texas State Guard Staff Sgt. Mike Mills, 1st Battalion, 2nd Regiment.  "It's great to see it from the evacuee's side and helps me to empathize with them.  We will be able to take that back and learn from it." 

Upon arriving at their respective airports, the role playing guardsmen were moved to designated shelters to spend the night just as evacuees would, away from the hurricane strike zone.  

On the last day of the operation, June 9, 2016, soldiers returned to their home of record with a much greater understanding of what happens during an evacuation.

"The professionalism demonstrated by the men and women of the Texas State Guard in this Rio Grande Evacuation Exercise is a credit to all Texans, said Maj. Gen. Jake Betty commander of the Texas State Guard. “ It will be a foundation for future possible disaster missions."

Texas Guardsmen, local first responders exercise air and medical capabilities (1 of 4)

Story By: Sgt. Elizabeth Pena

Posted on: June 16, 2016

HARLINGEN, Texas -- Just in time for hurricane season to begin, guardsmen from the Texas Army National Guard, Texas Air National Guard and Texas State Guard supported the Texas Division of Emergency Management with air and medevac capabilities during a state level hurricane preparedness exercise June 1-9, 2016, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and across various other Texas cities.

“This exercise is the first of its kind in all of Texas and the U.S., other than the real life occurrence with Katrina and Louisiana,” said Tony Pena, state coordinator for Texas Department of Public Safety Emergency Management, Region 3. “This is an exercise that has been long overdue for the Rio Grande Valley coastal area.”

The mock “Hurricane Tejas” mirrored the unforgettable 1980 “Hurricane Alan” which was the worst of its kind sweeping through the Rio Grande Valley coast at 190 mph. The scenario estimated 1.1 million people to be evacuated out of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

“Allen is the only storm in the Atlantic basin in recorded history to achieve wind speeds of 190 mph,” said Col. Tom Suelzer, director of operations for the Texas Air National Guard, and for the state, he serves as the Air Operations Center director. “Allen is a great model for this exercise because it became a Category 5 two times in its life, and steered a direct path to the Rio Grande Valley from way out in the gulf."

The Texas Military Department practiced both general population and medical evacuation through embarkation hubs at the Valley International Airport in Harlingen, June 9, 2016.

“The reason that this exercise is so important is it validates the Texas Division of Emergency Managements’ plan to employ the Texas Military Department in assisting local authorities to ensure a safe evacuation of the Texas citizens from the potential harm.” said Col Williams, Air Expeditionary Group Commander.

During the mock hurricane evacuation, Texas Air National Guard, active duty Air Force, Oklahoma Air National Guard set up a Disaster Aeromedical Staging Facility for patients that are being transported to a higher level of care through military aircraft. These patients are brought in from local medical facilities and high school in Harlingen, Texas.

“The Disaster Aeromedical Staging Facility can process up to 140 patients in 24 hours,” said Col. Tami Rougeau, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the assistant director of operations of Headquarters Air Mobility Command Scott Air force Base, Illinois. “We will run two C-130s for four missions. Each mission will have approximately 35 patients. All patients that are identified to be moved by the state are processed here into the DASF and registered nurses, medical technicians, critical care docs and flight surgeons care for them."

The Texas State Guard provided numerous service members to role play evacuees needing medical attention. Commercial aircraft carried members of the community role playing as general population evacuees out of the lower Rio Grande Valley to the shelter locations in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field and also Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

“We have never had one where we do a full-scale evacuation of actual patients and/or general population,” said Pena. “So with the combination of military aircraft on one hand and civilian general population on the other hand, I personally believe it’s going very well.” 

“This is my first time doing this type of training, said Air Force Staff Sgt. Alice Salazar-Sherman, a medical technician with the 88th Inpatients Operation Squadron, at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “We are overcoming a lot of barriers. It has been fun to see what the Department of Defense can do. This training is extremely important to prepare for what the state expects and to see what the Disaster Aeromedical Staging Facility is prepared to handle.

Texas Guardsmen are trained and equipped with military capabilities to help stabilize and improve the situation in the wake of a natural and man-made disaster.

“Within the Texas Air National Guard and Texas Army National Guard our aviation and air mission skill sets are directly applicable to domestic air operations,” said Suelzer. “The mission of coordinating a large aviation response naturally falls onto the Texas Military Department.”

The Atlantic Hurricane season runs from June 1 – Nov. 31, 2016.

This is 1 of 4 Texas Hurricane Preparedness)

Texas guardsmen, first responders conduct aviation search and rescue exercise

Story By: Capt. Jessica Jackson

Posted on: June 16, 2016

AUSTIN, Texas — Helicopters buzzing overhead, first responders descending to save stranded victims — that was the scene at Camp Mabry in Austin as guardsmen and five state and local partnering agencies conducted a large-scale aviation search and rescue exercise, June 8, 2016.

Texas Military Department, Travis County STAR flight, Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Coast Guards – Houston and Austin Police Department came together in a joint effort to complete the exercise said Brett Dixon, program manager for Texas Task Force 1.

Every year, a different catastrophic event is put into the training. Each exercise provides Texas Military Department and local and state authorities the opportunity to offer mutual assistance to mock stranded victims.

This year’s scenario focused around a hurricane that produced record rainfall in Austin — causing widespread flooding throughout the area.
Partnering agencies responded on scene, within hours, to run through mock evacuations in preparation for when severe weather occurs.

“This exercise is a planned partnership between Texas Task Force 1, and mimics past events to make the training as realistic as possible,” said Texas Army National Guard Lt. Col. Troy Meuth, search and rescue director for Air Operations Center.

Several months of preparation and planning went into conducting this complex event including reaching out to the interagency partners and using lessons learned to help develop real-world scenarios and create a plan.

Flight crews within the different organizations also played a significant role in the exercise. 

“During the exercise I was the Air Mission Commander and pilot in command,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Pedro Vargas-Lebron, Texas Army National Guard. “My main responsibilities are ensuring the flight is safe for the mission we are doing. The crew in the back will do the rescues and my role is to ensure we can accomplish that safely.”

Along with providing realistic training, the exercise centered around synchronization of the Air Operations Center on Camp Mabry and the Joint Air Ground Coordination team located at the STAR flight hangar.

“We are using this opportunity to make sure we can communicate between agencies, making sure that when 911 calls come in that we can direct the appropriate asset or resource out to where they need to be to do the most good,” Dixon said.

In addition to improving life-saving skills, Meuth said this was also an opportunity for participants to spend a day doing something that matters. 

“The people who do this, including our interagency partners, are very passionate about what they do,” Meuth said. “It’s a very high-risk, but high-reward job.”

The annual exercise is in its third year and is a smaller component of the statewide Lower Rio Grande Valley hurricane evacuation exercise.

“During previous hurricanes, we realized with all the aircraft on scene, there was some confusion of roles and responsibilities,” Meuth said. By conducting this exercise, we can work that out ahead of time and develop capabilities so we’re able to do more with less.”

Through preparation and practice, these cooperating entities can become more confident in their ability to be there when they are needed the most.

“We’re able to respond to Texans when they’re in need,” Meuth said. “That’s what this is about; whenever there is a disaster or big event we’re able to quickly respond with the right assets to help our fellow Texans.”

Vargas-Lebron had a similar sentiment. “In the end it’s about supporting the local community. That is what makes the guard unique.”