Texas guardsmen provide back-to-back hurricane assistance

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps
  • 149th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Texas Air National Guardsmen returning home from Hurricane Katrina duty had just enough time to catch up on sleep before receiving the order to repack their bags.

Now they are preparing to deal with the aftermath of another hurricane, but this time it will hit closer to home. Hurricane Rita is aiming for the Texas coast.

Guardsmen with the 149th Fighter Wing here will be part of Task Force-Seguin, a force comprising 400 people, which is part of the 1,750-person Joint Task Force-Texas. Texas National Guard Soldiers and Airmen will constitute the task forces, which are staging out of San Antonio and will deploy to coastal areas following the storm’s landfall.

Guardsmen from throughout Texas will assist civil authorities with emergency support functions such as rescue, medical treatment, transportation, distribution of supplies, security and road clearing.

Texas National Guardsmen were among the first responders in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. More than 250 people from the 149th FW and units in Fort Worth, Houston and El Paso evacuated 35,000 residents from the Superdome. Air Guard medics set up a triage system to treat and evacuate flood victims at the New Orleans Convention Center. Other guardsmen distributed food, water and medical supplies and helped civil authorities with debris removal. These Texas guardsmen were called home Sept. 19 when Hurricane Rita began posing a threat to Texas.

Some Soldiers and Airmen with families along the Texas coast are already feeling the effect of Rita, and other guardsmen are trying to help them out by opening their homes. One person with the 149th FW made room for 10 additional people to stay in her San Antonio home until the storm passes. Ironically, she may be deployed to the very area they evacuated.

“My family got here from Houston last night, and now I’m going to see what’s left of the area,” said Maj. Joye Haun. “It’s like we’re trading places for the weekend.”

The 149th FW, which flies F-16 Fighting Falcons out of Lackland, is also making its own hurricane preparations. Since Sept. 1, the unit has been managing ongoing hurricane relief actions while continuing its primary Air Force mission of training F-16 fighter pilots.

“Luckily one class was just finishing up and the next class had not begun flying yet, so we could get the students out of here before the storm hit,” said Col. John Nichols, 149th FW commander.

If necessary, the aircraft will be relocated farther west, out of harm’s way.

With this second hurricane, Airmen with the fighter wing continue long duty days. Most of them have had only a few days off since the beginning of September.

"We hope there’s not a third hurricane, but if there is, we’re ready for it,” Colonel Nichols said. “That’s our job.”