The Hornet - October 2018

Dual Mission

NC Guardsmen take on huge domestic operation days after completing largescale training exercise.

North Carolina National Guard Quarterly Issue

October 2018 www.nc.ng.mil

Director of Public Affairs Lt. Col. Matthew DeVivo matthew.r.devivo.mil@mail.mil

Inside this Issue:

Media Relations Maj. Matthew Boyle matthew.i.boyle.mil@mail.mil

Community Relations Maj. Michael Wilber michael.j.wilber2.mil@mail.mil

Visual Information Staff Sgt. Brendan Stephens brendan.p.stephens.mil@mail.mil

145th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Tech. Sgt. Nathan Clark nathan.t.clark.mil@mail.mil

Writers/Photographers Staff Sgt. Mary Junell mary.e.junell.mil@mail.mil

Social Media Sgt. Odaliska Almonte ncngpao@gmail.com

On The Cover:

The Hornet magazine is an authorized publication for members of the North Carolina National Guard. Contents of this publication are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the NCNG, United States Government or the Department of Defense. The editorial content of this publication is the responsibility of the Public Affairs Office of the NCNG. General comments and suggestions should be addressed to Mary.E.Junell.mil@mail.mil or call 984-664-6590.

Layout and design 1 by Staff Sgt. Mary Junell

2,800 North Carolina National Guardsmen were called to State Active Duty in preparation for Hurricane Florence, some as little as three days after completing a large scale training event, the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team’s eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program, at Fort Bliss, Texas. The back to back events show the capabilities and dual mission of the North Carolina National Guard. (Photo Illustration

by Staff Sgt. Mary Junell)

XCTX prepares the 30th for NCTC, Pg. 11

The 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team’s eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program at Fort Bliss, Texas from August 6-28, 2018.

Success begins at the RUBA, Pg. 13

The RUBA (Rotational Unit Bivouac Area) at Dona Ana Military Camp, New Mexico ensures the 30th, Nicknamed ‘Old Hickory’ rolls to success.

Time means nothing in Army friendship, Pg. 17 Childhood friends find each other while on deployment with the 449th Combat Aviation Brigade.

A Guard Nation Comes Together, Pg. 25

Aviation assets from 13 states supported North Carolina during recovery efforts after Hurricane Florence.

Also in This Issue: News From The Nest, Pg. 3 Hurricane Florence Photos, Pg. 19 Behind the Scene of SAD, Pg.24 145th Sends Backup, Pg. 29 NCNG Soldiers on 4th SAD, Pg. 11 Museum Groundbreaking, Pg. 19 Click to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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Where is SFC Jordan?

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News From Around the Nest

Mr. Jordan Gillis, the tary Acting Assistant Secre ns, atio tall Ins of the Army for ent, nm viro En d an y Energ wit m h the presents the FMS #1 tea vironmental En y Secretary of the Arm gust 3, 2018.

Au on ard Aw al Guard Lt. Col. North Carolina Nation the rank of Colonel Jerry E. Baird Jr. earns y held at NCNG at a promotion ceremon ers in Raleigh, Joint Force Headquart July 13, da North Carolina, Fri y, 2018.

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 Lt. Col. Patrick h Henderson, 236t n lio tta Ba r Brigade Enginee th 30 a s ce pla r, de Comman in co am Combat Te Armored Brigade r, he at df an gr e of his lat on the tombstone ion of lus nc co e th at n so MAJ Lyle Hender n took mony. Henderso his promotion cere training r fo iss Bl . being at Ft the opportunity of site of eotion at the grav to conduct his prom d is an II W o served in W his grandfather wh y. er et m Ce l na iss Natio buried at the FT Bl

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 North Carolina Army National Guard Soldiers from Bravo Battery, 5th illery Battalion, 113th Field Art t en ym plo de Regiment host a eater Th ds an sbr ne Ha ceremony at 18 3, 20 . Bravo in Winston-Salem, Sept. dle East, in Mid Battery will deploy to the ield.

Sh an art Sp support of Operation

al North Carolina Nation ms gra Pro y mil Fa ard Gu 0 collected more than 70 to on diti ad in s hundred backpack out nd ha to s plie sup l oo boxes of sch back at en ardsm to the families of its Gu to school events. tional Guard The North Carolina Na y veteran itar mil honored 27-year nson at Joh rd ilfo Gu j.

Command Sgt. Ma held at a retirement ceremony rce Fo nt N.C. Guard’s Joi rth No h, leig Ra Headquarters in .

Carolina, July 20, 2018

 Senior leaders from the North Carolina ries, National Guard, dignita came ers mb me and community .

N.C the ate dic de together to Readiness rd efo Ra ’s ard Gu al Nation Donna Johnson Center as the Staff Sgt. day, Sept 8, 2018. tur Sa on readiness Center n, was a member of the Staff Sgt. Donna Johnso Police Co. On October NCNG’s 514th Military ed when a suicide s 1,2012, Johnson wa kill t U.S.-Afghan bomber attacked her join tan. patrol in Khost, Afghanis

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Lightning strikes as Bradley Fighting Vehicles from 1-150th Cavalry Regiment of the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team prepare to fire TOW Missiles during a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX) at Fort Bliss Texas on August 16, 2018. This CALFEX is part The Army National Guard’s eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program, an instrumented Brigade field training exercise designed to certify Platoon proficiency in coordination with First Army.

(Photo by Staff Sgt. Brendan Stephens)

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New Mexico

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North Carolina

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Spc. Kenneth Reid, with the North Carolina National Guard’s 514th Military Police Company, holds two of his six children after a mobilization ceremony held in their honor at the East Carolina University Pirate Club in Greenville, North Carolina, Aug. 12, 2018.

The 514th is set to deploy to Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Mary Junell)

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Texas

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Thirty-five North Carolina employers traveled to Fort Bliss, Texas to witness their Citizen-Soldier employees conduct military training and learn what they do when not at work. Operation “Boss Lift� is led by the NC Employee Support to the Guard and Reserves (ESGR) and is a three-day trip to Fort Bliss, Aug. 16-18, 2018. (Photo by Spc. Senterria Weeks)

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XCTC Prepares 30th for National Training Center Rotation Story and Photo by Sgt. Odaliska Almonte

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Soldiers with the 230th Brigade Support Battalion and 236th Brigade Engineer Battalion conduct security operations during their convoy to their staging areas to begin their missions.

Breaking Barriers in the N.C. National Guard Field Artillery Regiment

ver 3,800 Guardsmen from North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Minnesota are participating in the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team’s (ABCT) eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) program in Fort Bliss, Texas from August 6-28, 2018.

The XCTC program, coordinated and managed by First Army and The National

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Guard Bureau, is a combat brigade size field training exercise designed to certify platoon proficiency.

First Army assigns Observer Coach Trainers down to the lowest unit levels. There they observe the 30th’s Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures and Standard Operating Procedures and determine if they meet the Commander’s training objectives and how

irst Lt. Carolyn Horton is working on becoming the first qualified female artilleryman within the 1-113th Field Artillery Regiment, 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, thus joining the ranks of the many N.C. National Guard strong female leaders.

Horton enlisted 2009, and after completing Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), her one goal was to join the artillery regiment.

“I chose field artillery originally because everyone I met in this job was very motivated,” said 1st Lt. Horton. “I wanted to be a part of a group that loves what they do and wants to succeed at every mission.”

Horton has been with Charlie Battery, 1-113th for two years and today serves as the “Axehandles” Executive Officer (XO) for the unit.

In her time with Charlie Battery Horton credits her commander, Capt.

1st. Lt. Carolyn Horton, far left, speaks with Bravo Battery Soldiers while conducting a M109 howitzer/paladin dry fire exercise, as they get ready for live fire at a training area near Ft. Bliss, Texas.

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well the unit performs during multiple scenario training lanes and live fire exercises.

“Since this is a National Guard unit going through the XCTC, First Army likes to augment the unit with Guard Soldiers because we have that communality with the training unit,” said Capt. Ashley Callahan, Observer Coach Trainer and Logistics Officer from the District Of Columbia National Guard. “We provide a different perspective and understand first had what these Guardsmen had to do to get here and train in this harsh environment”.

The goal of XCTC is to ready the 30th ABCT for its National Training Center (NTC) rotation in Fort Irwin, California.

After the NTC rotation the 30th will be validated for potential overseas deployment.

“XCTC greatly benefits us, it simulates the Soldiers and our systems, it stresses the systems that we need to have in place in order to be effective, lethal and successful at NTC,” said Maj. Courtney Bird, 236th Brigade Engineer Battalion S3 Operations Officer.

Compared to the training exercises the 30th ABCT undertakes at home in North Carolina, the land available during XCTC provides a larger maneuver area for operations that are more realistic and aligned with a deployment scenario.

“Out here we can maneuver and operate as a M109 Paladin Battery should, in a wide open terrain,” said Staff Sgt. Jesse Grose, Platoon Sergeant for Bravo Battery, 1-113th Field Artillery. “Here we have more space, more maneuver area. The terrain it’s very difficult but this exercise prepares us more for the force on force type battlefield.”

Over the intense three-weeks of training in the austere desert environment that is Fort Bliss, all 30th Soldiers will hone their combat skills of Shoot, Move, Communicate, and

Ronald Colvin and Master Sgt. Brian Dawson for making an impact in her success.

“Captain Colvin and Master Sergeant Dawson never treated me with kid gloves just because I was a female within their artillery battery,” said Horton. “They guided me, mentored me, and trained me through my mistakes so I could learn from them.”

Capt. Colvin has complete

Soldiers with Bravo Battery 1-113th Field Artillery Regiment check their communications at the Fire Direction Control before the M109 howitzer/paladin life fire at a training area near Ft. Bliss, Texas.

Sustain.

“When we went through the NTC rotation in 2009, we were still fighting the counter-insurgency fight instead of the conventional war fight that we’re focusing on

confidence that 1st Lt. Horton can manage the Battery in his absence.

“I can lean on Lieutenant Horton and know that things are going to get done,” said Capt. Colvin. “I left Horton in command for two weeks and the Battery shot successfully under her supervision during my absence.”

Horton has not only earned the trust of her Commander but the respect of her Non-Commissioned

here,“ said Bird. “But the basis for what we do it’s still the same, our soldiers and combat systems are being tested and refined here to get us closer to what we’re going to see and accomplish at NTC.”

Officers (NCOs).

“I’ve been very impressed with Lieutenant Horton since she came on board,” said Master Sgt. Dawson.

“She listens to her NCOs and she pays attention to details which is extremely important in our line of work.”

With the full support and confidence of her Battery, the future looks bright for 1st Lt. Horton to become their first female battery

commander in a not so distant future.

“She takes pride in her job and cares for the success of every single Axehandle Soldier that works with her,” said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey McCullough, Gun Chief for Charlie Battery. “She is spot on and ever since she joined us she has been completely dedicated to her job. I’m confident she will pin on her crossed cannons soon and one day become our commander.”

Story and Photo by Sgt. Odaliska Almonte

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30th Armored Brigade at XCTC: Old Hickory’s Success Begins at the RUBA Story and Photos by Lt. Col Matt Devivo

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The Sergeant said we are going to A “RUBA”, so why are we heading to Fort Bliss and not the Caribbean?

That play on words is silly, but there is nothing funny about having over 3,800 Army National Guard Soldiers of the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, from four states, who have traveled thousands of miles to get to Fort Bliss, Texas, arrive at their training location to find that their heavy equipment, food, fuel, medical support and other

sustainment resources required to begin three weeks of training is not ready to move – That is mission failure, and the RUBA (Rotational Unit Bivouac Area) at Dona Ana Military Camp, New Mexico ensures the 30th, Nicknamed ‘Old Hickory’ rolls to success.

In the words of the Chinese general and military strategist, Sun Tzu, the line between disorder and order lies in logistics. Relate that quote to the RUBA, and if it fails in its

logistics mission, chances are the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team (30th ABCT) will be way behind the power curve as they enter three weeks of intense training here.

For six weeks (late July through early Sept.) the RUBA has a sole mission, to be the central location where 30th ABCT units conduct reception, staging, and onward-movement and integration into the immense training areas north and west of the RUBA.

Task Force Steel is charged with running the RUBA and is comprised of approximately 300 professional logisticians and veteran sustainers of North Carolina National Guard’s 113th Sustainment Brigade (113th SB.) As the battalions and headquarters element that make up the 30th ABCT arrive at Fort Bliss, every unit must process through Task Force Steel’s RUBA. “Task Force Steel has been doing a fantastic job since day

When the 30th travels, a lot of equipment and materials follow. Here at storage and supply location of the RUBA, soldiers unpack hundreds of cargo containers and cross load their trucks for movement to the training areas.

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“The RUBA operation allowed the 30th ABCT to experience the same conditions that they will have at the National Training Center, at Fort Irwin next summer,”

For about seven days during the height of units moving through the RUBA, the Food Service Operations Mobile Kitchen there were serving well over 2,000 hot meals a day.

- Maj. Steve McClean

one here at Dona Ana,” said Col. Stephen Jones, Task Force Steel Commander and Commander of the 113th SB, based in Greensboro, N.C. “It has been a great opportunity for our team to train in this environment, at such a large-scale of sustainment and help the 30th Brigade get settled, fed, fixed and cycled out the door to the training areas to do their mission.”

The 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team is taking part in the eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas Aug. 6-28, 2018. The XCTC exercise, managed and coordinated by First Army and the National Guard Bureau, has over 4,000 Citizen-Soldiers from North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Minnesota, and 95 Soldiers from the Moldovan Army participating in multiple training scenarios (live fires and tactical lanes). All will hone their combat skills of ‘Shoot, Move, Communicate, and Sustain.’

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“Units land at Bliss, and Task Force Steel takes over. They get their welcome and safety brief at the arrival flight facility and learn about the training areas and environmental hazards and other important need to know information like; sick call, where sleeping quarters are located, dining facility hours, as well as post office and red cross information. They are then transported to the RUBA,” said Master Sgt. Walter Mansfield, one of 113th SB’s senior noncommissioned officers working at the RUBA. “Basically, anything the Soldier would need life sustainment type of things we provide here at the RUBA. We have processed a little over 4,000 Soldiers through the RUBA since I got here in late July, and have processed and staged over 2,100 wheeled and tracked vehicles at our massive motor pool that are ready for crews to man and move into the training areas.”

Moving an armored brigade combat team from three east

coast states and Minnesota to the high plains desert in the western panhandle of Texas is a logistics problem the active duty luckily never has to plan for, since most active duty armored units, like here at Fort Bliss, have their training areas outside their back-door/bases, and at the most maybe a 20-50-mile convoy away.

“Moving thousands of personnel, heavy equipment and resources across the country for XCTC has the exact steps that we do for a full-scale mobilization to active duty,” said Jones. “The complexity of this logistics operation and the exercise itself is enormous, and to know that 90 percent of all Guard personnel here are CitizenSoldiers, meaning this is their “other job” besides what they do back in the civilian world, and they come together as one team to accomplish this logistics movement and combat training exercise as good as an active duty unit.”

Thousands of Guardsmen

and military vehicles, including Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Paladin Artillery, Humvees and a menagerie of military cargo trucks depart the RUBA for the immense training areas. With all that metal moving, dust, heat and “controlled chaos” it is inevitable that there will be a few minor injuries, after all this can be a dangerous job and Task Force Steel’s medical unit is ready to treat anyone that comes through their doors.

“We have treated over 300 Soldiers since late July,” said 1st Lt. Timothy Potts, a Physician’s Assistant with NC Guard’s 113th Special Troops Battalion, based in Asheboro, N.C. and officer in charge of Task Force Steel’s medical unit. “Here at the RUBA we have the basic medications and can run IVs and fluids, treat minor bumps and bruises and prepare patients who need to be moved back to Fort Bliss proper for x-rays and other more complex injuries.”

“We also have a certified behavioral health technician with

us. This shop is very realistic to what you’d find at a first line, first level treatment facility.

Our medics and clerks have been working long hours and we all have learned a lot since coming here. It’s feels like a real deployment.”

Besides getting basic medications and possibly an arm brace for a bruised forearm or wrist, Soldiers need to recharge, eat and sleep at the RUBA until their unit is ready to roll out to the “Box”. That prep time at the RUBA can be 2-4 days depending on the unit and what training lane they are heading to.

“My cooks and KP personnel have been hard at work since day one,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Holly Hommel, Senior Food Service Officer with the 113th SB and Dining Facility Manager at the RUBA. “For about seven days during the height of units moving through the RUBA, we were serving well over 2,000 hot meals a day, a hot breakfast and dinner and troops would get a MRE for lunch. Our working conditions and weather

is challenging but the NCOs and overall teamwork has shown that if tasked we can do this type of bare bones field cooking and service for an entire brigade indefinitely. I’m very proud of my team.”

The dining facility, showers and sleeping areas are all within a short walk of each other, but when high winds and dust storms hit the RUBA even that short walk becomes torturous.

It’s even worse out in the motor pool when dust storms kick up due to the moon dust, a fine soft sand that makes up 95% of the motor pool’s grounds.

“We’ve had to shutdown motor pool operations a few times due to dust storms and almost zero visibility out there,” said Jones. “Its not worth the risk of having someone get hit by a truck or some other type of incident.”

Even with a few safety shutdowns, Old Hickory’s combat units rolled out of the RUBA to the training areas on schedule.

At the RUBA track and

wheeled vehicles are inspected, fueled and revved up and prepared for their crews. Right before each unit leaves the RUBA for the austere training areas of Fort Bliss, one of the last stops they take is to the water point and fuel point, to fill up on what keeps the tracks and wheels moving and Soldiers hydrated in the August Texas heat where temperatures will reach over 100 degrees for days.

“Working together and being synched to execute all of the logistical lines of operation that support the 30th ABCT and their fight is one of our lessons learned here. We have exercised every sustainment function except finance,” said Jones. “The realism here has been great.

To have to track commodities, people, equipment and to put it all together here at the RUBA has been well worth the efforts to get here.”

Working in ‘a RUBA’ is definitely not like being in tropical Aruba, even though there is plenty of sun and sand but just no beach, however, for

the logisticians and maintainers of Task Force Steel this trip will be one that is remembered and studied for quite some time.

“The RUBA operation allowed the 30th ABCT to experience the same conditions that they will have at the National Training Center, at Fort Irwin next summer,” said Maj. Steve McClean, 30th ABCT S4 Logistics Officer. “The 113th Sustainment Brigade replicated the RUBA operation very well and the process of reception, staging, onward-movement, and integration into the training area was essential to the success of the 30th here at XCTC 18-06."

As the nation’s operational combat reserve, the National Guard puts a premium and maximum priority on realistic training to make Guard units ready to fight tonight as part of the “Joint Total Force.”

XCTC and the RUBA operation here contributed to the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team’s readiness, lethality and reliability.

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Time means nothing in Army friendship Story by Staff Sgt. Leticia Samuels

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oldiers assigned to the 449th Combat Aviation Brigade traveled more than 6,300 miles in order to support Operations Inherent Resolve and Spartan Shield from November 2017 to August 2018.

For 24-year veteran Sgt. 1st Class Giovanni Ford, the 449th CAB Headquarters and Headquarters Company supply sergeant and Staff Sgt. Robert Morneau, a crew chief assigned to the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment (General Support

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Aviation Battalion) this deployment held a great surprise.

Ford said he ran into quite a few National Guard colleagues from various states but the real treat was reconnecting with a childhood friend Morneau.

“The Army is a small world,” said Ford.

“Running into Staff Sgt. Morneau was the icing on the cake. I haven't seen him in 30 years!”

Both non-commissioned officers are natives of a

Smyrna, Delaware and met while participating in various community-based events.

“We grew up in a very small town where everybody knew each other,” said Ford. “There were church events, social events, the 4-H club, boy scots, Little League Baseball, Pop Warner [Youth] football, and tons of school events."

Ford graduated one year prior to his comrade and decided to join the Armed Forces.

“The Navy had more opportunity,” said Ford.

“At the time the Army was only offering certain MOS

[Military Occupational Specialties] choices, and I wasn't interested in any they were offering.”

Ford said he completed nine years in the Navy.

After a long break in service, a family friend convinced him to join the Army National Guard.

“One of my parents’ neighbor's was a N.C. Guard recruiter, and told me about joining at a function,” said Ford. “The rest is history!”

Even though they took different career paths, military forces led them back to each other’s circle. The 449th CAB was selected for active

service and completed its mobilization training at Fort Hood and Fort Sill simultaneously.

Morneau said he was attending aerial gunnery training at Fort Sill and was working through a supply issue, which led him straight to Ford’s area of operations.

“When I asked for his first name, and the Soldier said Giovanni a light bulb went off,” said Morneau [thinking to himself, there couldn’t be two].

He said after some due diligence using Facebook, he confirmed it was indeed his childhood companion.

“It was pretty surreal,”

said Morneau. “I mean I joined the Army at 18, and Gio joined the Navy. We both had long breaks in service before ending up back in the Army Guard, and in different states.”

Since reconnecting and catching up on old times with each other, these two 30 plus year friends continue to speak highly of each other.

“What I remember most about SFC Ford is his being the life of the party,” said Morneau. “Everyone knew Gio. It seems from what I’ve observed, that much has not changed, which is a good trait in his career field.”

“SSG Morneau was always a witty person and had a strong opinion,” said Ford. “He always stuck to his word. If he told you he was going to help, he would whether it was good or bad.”

They also strongly emphasized how important their family support system is.

“This deployment and my previous deployment wouldn't have been mentally possible without a strong family support system in place,” said Ford.

“This is also my wife Sue’s fourth deployment,” said Morneau. “By that I mean we’ve been together

through Iraq, Afghanistan, And Kuwait twice now.

She’s the one that’s dealt with all the things back home that don’t stop just because I’m deployed. She deserves the credit for me being able to do what I do.”

Now that the two comrades have re-crossed paths across the world, Morneau looks forward to hearing about his comrade’s journey.

“All in all I guess I was really looking forward to hearing how after all these years he ended up in this trip with me,” said Morneau.

“The Army is a small world,” Left to Right: U.S. Army Staff Sgt Robert Morneau (right), embraces Sgt 1st Class Giovanni Ford, at Camp Buehring Aug. 21, 2018.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt Robert Morneau (left), stands in front of a Black Hawk Helicopter with Sgt 1st Class Giovanni Ford.

Photos by Capt. Briana McFarland

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Hurricane Florence On Sept. 14, 2018, Hurricane Florence slammed into the coast of North Carolina. The storm dumped large amounts of rain causing flooding across the state. In preparation for the storm, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper activated more than 2,800 N.C. Guardsmen. Soldiers and Airmen sprang into action, staging in areas expecting to receive the wort of the storm, ready to respond after it passed. Guardsmen worked closely with first responders to rescue victims by air, boat, and truck, as well as delivering supplies.

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Nonstop:

A story from behind the scenes in North Carolina

Story and photo by Staff Sgt. Margaret Taylor

For Sgt. Charlie Miller and his team of North Carolina guardsmen, their morning on Sept. 23 started with breakfast at the Acme-Delco-Riegelwood fire station. Then they all went to a worship service at the Baptist church down the street, just before a barricade on 87 South.

During the service, the congregation repeatedly thanked them and the emergency service professionals for all they’d done in the week since Hurricane Florence roared through.

A tearful local expressed her gratitude before the church, so choked up she almost couldn’t speak, but still told the story of how the rescuers had helped her just the day before with a massive tree that had fallen through her home.

The local fire chief also got up, declaring he’s never worked with a more professional, friendly bunch. The rescue teams came from all over: from Lumberton and Kernersville in North Carolina, as well as Illinois, Florida and even overseas. He said he’d welcome them back as neighbors any time.

After church and back at the fire station, Miller’s boss told him that he and his team needed to pack up to go to Whiteville.

“What for?” Miller asked.

To go home, hopefully, she told him.

Miller’s face split into a smile. “My wife will be happy.”

Miller and his team, all infantrymen from B Company, 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment out of Lumberton – a town that saw its own share of flooding -- had been camped out at the ADR fire station in Riegelwood for more than a

week before finally getting a chance to in. Their high-clearance trucks had no go home. During that time, they helped problem in the water, and once they even firefighters and swift water rescue teams towed out a firetruck after its engine got comb through the local community to swamped. pluck people from the swelling floodwaters “It was a new experience for me of Hurricane Florence. working side by side with them, but they Their determination and heart made were one of the best assets we had,” said the mission possible and left its mark on Mike Curtin, a swift water rescue team both the community and the civilian member with Illinois Task Force 1 out of rescuers they worked alongside all week.

Wheeling, Illinois, about working with the “Everybody worked well together; National Guardsmen. “They worked from we got everything accomplished,” said sunup to sundown – beyond sundown.

Boyd Hart, the battalion chief from the They were nonstop: indefatigable.”

Kernersville fire department. “All the Curtin said he was particularly crews, Sgt. Miller’s crew and all that we impressed when he helped Miller and worked with, they’ve been great to work his team unload supplies from a military with. Anything we ask, they do.” helicopter. Curtin had never done Every day, the staff at the station would something like that before. When he meet up in the morning to pray before delivering a situational “We came from different parts of the briefing and distributing tasks, state, from different parts of the country, also handling any emergency calls but we felt like we were right at home.” as they came in, Hart said. Tasks included patrolling flooded out, barricaded roads; helping residents leave saw their professionalism and how the when mandatory evacuation orders were National Guardsmen were doing business, published; rescuing stranded travelers he took his cues from them. who got in too deep. Water rescues could “They were hard chargers, real involve response teams of up to 30 people. professionals,” Curtin said. “It’s been a While the civilian rescuers used really positive experience for me here. We flat-bottom motorboats to navigate the came from different parts of the state, submerged community, their firetrucks from different parts of the country, but couldn’t handle the depth, Hart said. we felt like we were right at home. It was a That’s where Miller and his team came good brotherhood.”

North Carolina Army National Guard Sgt. Charlie Miller (far right), an infantryman from B Company, 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, poses with his team at the Acme-DelcoRiegelwood fire station in Riegelwood, North Carolina, on Sept. 23, 2018. Miller and his team, all from Lumberton, North Carolina, lived and worked at ADR for more than a week to help rescue teams after Hurricane Florence.

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A Guard Nation Comes Together After Hurricane Florence Story and Photos by Staff Sgt. Mary Junell

Staff Sgt. Antonio Rodriguez, with the Maryland National Guard, looks out the rear door of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter on the way to drop off supplies near Lumberton, North Carolina, Sept. 19, 2018. Thirteen states provided aviation assets in support of the North Carolina National Guard’s mission during Hurricane Florence recovery efforts.

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National Guard Helicopters Used During Hurricane Florence Recovery Response

UH-72 Lakota

UH-60 Black Hawk

CH-47 Chinook

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On Sept. 14, 2018, Hurricane Florence slammed into the Carolina coast as a Category 1 storm, and it sat there.

Florence quickly downgraded to a tropical storm but moved slow enough, at about 5 mph, that someone could have jogged along in the eye of the storm, staying relatively dry.

The day after Florence’s arrival, Army Aviation Support Facility 1 (AASF1) in Morrisville, North Carolina began receiving Army National Guard aircraft and crews from all over the country to help support recovery efforts.

In addition to North Carolina National Guard’s (NCNG) seven Black Hawk helicopters and two Lakota helicopters available for storm response, 13 states brought helicopters, crews, and mechanics to join in the more than 3,000 N.C. Guardsmen activated in preparation for the massive storm.

“A powerful, damaging hurricane is hours away from our coast,” said N.C. Governor Roy Cooper during a press conference where he announced the mobilization of additional National Guard troops ahead of Florence making landfall and urged citizens to evacuate.

National Guard units from Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and Mississippi brought CH-47 Chinooks, the Coast Guard provided 10 helicopters, N.C. State Highway Patrol provided

five rotary wing aircraft. The rest of the helicopters were Black Hawks brought by Connecticut, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New York, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, and New Jersey.

At the height of the storm response the combined aviation assets, including the NCNG, totaled 50 aircraft and approximately 350 Soldiers, Airmen and First Responders, with the majority flying out of the Morrisville flight facility.

“It’s impressive,” said Capt. Curtis Lowe, the daytime flight operations officer with the Kentucky National Guard. “The professionalism of aviation and the air-crews always shines in events like this where there are a lot of variables that we may not be used to seeing in different locations.

It’s just well-trained air-crews that are really proficient at their jobs that can show up in any location and accomplish the mission.”

The additional aviation support more than tripled the capabilities of the NCNG making it possible to fly 346 missions, rescuing approximately 441 people, 127 animals and moving more than 685,000 pounds of supplies and equipment. Task Force Aviation also gave leadership a way to survey the damage caused by the storm and transport 685 essential personnel.

On the evening of Sept. 20, a group of National Guard and Coast Guard helicopters and their crews, rescued more than 102 people and 33 pets from Kelly, N.C. as severe flooding hit their small town. The aviators flew out of the AASF1 and Salisbury,

missions flown - 346 people rescued - 441 animals rescued - 127 pounds of supplies moved - 685,000 N.C., and used night-vision goggles throughout the rescue.

Many of the pilots and crew have been deployed and are accustomed to the busy pace and overnight shifts that come with disaster response operations. For some though, this was their first time resting U.S. citizens.

“Overseas I definitely like the aspects of helping others,” said Sgt. Jonathan Nielsen a flight engineer with the Minnesota National Guard who’s Chinook helped rescue people from Kelly, N.C. “But, that feel good feeling of helping your fellow Americans is definitely the best.”

Nielsen, a former Marine who had been stationed in N.C. said he has friends who still live in the New Bern area.

“I’ve talked to a couple buddies and helped them coordinate how they can go about getting aid,” he said. “So far it’s worked out pretty well.”

Sgt. Micheal Justo, a Black Hawk crew chief with the Connecticut National Guard said this was not his first time being activated in response to a storm, but that this was the “longest and most intense” State Active Duty he’s been a part of.

“In Connecticut, our biggest problem is snow so I’ve done a couple activations for that,” he said. “This has been the most intense one that we’ve done.”

Justo and his team’s Black Hawk was fitted with a hoist system and started out as part of a Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team, paired with a rescue swimmer from Oklahoma’s Helicopter Search and Rescue Team.

They were later moved on to service and supply missions including a mission to move over 13,000 pounds of food to a hospital in Wilmington, N.C. “The town of Wilmington was completely cut off via land transportation,” he said. “We helicoptered in all the food they needed for the hospital.”

Nine days after Hurricane Florence hit, most of the out of state aviation assets have returned home, but NCNG leadership reminded the citizens and Guardsmen of N.C. that the mission is far from over.

“Remember, no mission is complete until you are returned to the arms of your loved ones back home,” said State Command Sgt. Maj. Russell Prince in a video posted on the NCNG Facebook page.

Although the storm is over, the North Carolina National Guardsmen will continue their recovery efforts until the needs of the state are met.

Homes and businesses are surrounded by water from the Cape Fear River Sept. 17, 2018, in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.

The North Carolina National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility in Morrisville, North Carolina hosted guardsmen and aircraft from 13 states who have flown in to support the N.C. in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.

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U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Raymond Graves III chains down two forklifts to a flatbed truck at the North Carolina Air National Guard Base, Sept.17, 2018.

145th Logistics Readiness Squadron Sends Back-Up

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ollowing strategic safety measures, an 11-person team from the 145th Logistics Readiness Squadron is activated and sent to Kinston, North Carolina, Sept. 17, 2018, to relieve a team of North Carolina Air National Guardsmen that have been creating and moving supply pallets filled with food and water during Hurricane Florence.

In order to move the pallets, the new team will haul two forklifts that each have a 6,200-pound capacity.

Moving them is not a task taken lightly. The forklifts must be loaded from a supply warehouse dock to a flatbed truck and then strapped down

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Story and photo by Staff Sgt. Laura Montgomery

and inspected for safety measures.

“Once we’ve chained them down, we tie these white strips around as an extra safety precaution,” said Senior Master Sgt. Raymond Graves III, 145th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

For some, this will be a new experience. Airman 1st Class Tate Boorse, 145th Logistics Readiness Squadron, just arrived to the 145th Airlift Wing fresh out of technical training in May of 2018 and works with fuel.

“I’ve never done anything like this before. I expect to be handing out food and water bottles, maybe clearing debris. It’s my first activation so I’m not really sure what

to expect,” said Airman 1st Class Boorse.

For others the experience of activating for humanitarian relief efforts is not new.

During Hurricane Matthew nearly two years ago, Staff Sgt. Rachael French, vehicle maintenance technician with the 145th Logistics Readiness Squadron, was activated and helped move supplies, and supported the local community.

“We keep the fleet moving, making sure everyone gets to where they’re going,” said Staff Sgt. French. “Basically, we’ll be loading up trucks and making sure supplies get to shelters.”

Staff Sgt. French has worked with vehicle

maintenance in the North Carolina Air National Guard since 2015 and has witnessed first-hand the long-lasting effects of what damage hurricanes can cause.

“During Hurricane Matthew, we helped down in Tarboro, North Carolina and it was really rewarding; knowing that we were contributing and helping out,” said Staff Sgt. French.

“Being from that side of the state and knowing the level of devastation, the little bit of help we can do, like interacting with the people and encouraging them makes a big difference.”

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N.C. Soldier on her fourth State Active Duty During Hurricane Florence Story and Photos by Sgt. Odaliska Almonte

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orth Carolina National Guard Sgt. Lauren Hawkins, with Headquarters Company 105th Engineer Battalion, is on her fourth State Active Duty Mobilization. She was called to duty before Hurricane Florence made landfall with a mission to support southeastern, N.C. counties.

Hawkins is one of about 2,800 Guardsmen activated for Hurricane Florence.

“We were activated on September 11th and deployed to Kinston,” said Hawkins who works at a photo studio in Durham, N.C. when not mobilized with the National Guard. “There we waited for the hurricane to arrive.”

Hawkins is no stranger to domestic disaster response missions. She previously, mobilized for 60 days to support recovery and relief efforts in

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Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

She also supported response efforts after Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irene.

“When we were in Puerto Rico, we were falling in on equipment and we didn’t know what resources we were going to have to go out and perform our job,” said Hawkins. “There was hardly any way to communicate with anybody and at first it was difficult to get to where people needed us.”

Staging early for an impending hurricane is a very effective way to get response teams to locations where they will be needed immediately following the storm.

Hawkins said that having the Soldiers get to the coast safely before the hurricane hit, staged and prepared with the equipment helped increase their

response time.

Working with civilian Emergency Operations Centers in the different counties was a very effective way to communicate what the local needs were and made our missions more efficient and timely.

“A local hospital transport capabilities were a little stretched out so they asked for our assistance and we were able to transport all of their patients with two of our Humvee ambulances to a South Carolina long term care facility,” said Hawkins.

After experiencing her fourth state active duty mobilization, Hawkins remains motivated to continue to medically treat not only her fellow Guardsmen but the citizens of North Carolina.

“I really like doing state active duty.

It’s one of the things that you sign up to do, helping out your community and it’s something that the community actually sees the National Guard in action,” said Hawkins “When the community sees us putting forth the effort to help them even if we have the same problems going on back home, that gives us a sense of accomplishment as well.”

Approximately 3,100 NC National Guard Soldiers and Airmen supported Hurricane Florence disaster response efforts, with another “It’s one of the things that you sign up to 340 Guardsmen from 13 states. do” - Sgt. Lauren Hawkins Since landfall on September 14, 2018, the Guard rescued over 800 people, more than 100 pets, and delivered over 469,000 pounds of needed supplies to impacted areas with military trucks and helicopters.

Sgt. Lauren Hawkins evaluates military and civilian patients while on State Active Duty in response to Hurricane Florence.

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