Oklahoma Guard Aviators Deploy to Aid Hurricane Florence Relief Effort

By Army Sgt. Brian Schroeder, Oklahoma Army National Guard

LEXINGTON, Okla. -- Soldiers from the Oklahoma Army National Guard departed yesterday from Muldrow Army Heliport here to provide search-and-recovery capabilities for East Coast citizens impacted by Hurricane Florence.

Seven soldiers from Detachment 1, Charlie Company, 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment, who trained in helicopter search-and-rescue operations, are tasked to assist in Hurricane Florence relief efforts. The unit flew to Knoxville, Tennessee, and is waiting on standby until called upon by one of the states affected by the storm.

Once in Knoxville, the Oklahoma Army National Guard team of aviators, crew chiefs and an operations sergeant, will fly to and link up with Oklahoma’s Task Force 1, which includes a collaboration of Oklahoma City and Tulsa firefighter-paramedics. The unified team of aviators and firefighters regularly train together to conduct swift water rescue using dynamic and static hoists.

Rescuing Stranded Citizens

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Jenkins, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot assigned to Charlie Company, said the training for swift water rescues and hoists with the Task Force 1 has prepared the group to perform the potentially dangerous task of rescuing a person stranded after the hurricane subsides.

Jenkins said he and his crew are excited to provide a helping hand to citizens outside of Oklahoma.

“We all fall under the same flag, no matter which of the 50 states,” Jenkins said. “That’s part of putting the uniform on and doing the job. It’s not the aspect of position, rank or title. It’s about going out there and actually saving someone’s life.”

The pilots, working with crew chiefs and firefighters, will locate and hover over stranded persons in need. The crew chief will then attach the firefighter to the hoist. Once safety checks are complete, the firefighter is lowered down to the stranded individual in a basket, seat or other floating rescue device. The rescue team member will then make contact with the stranded individual, secure the person to the hoist seat and both are lifted to the cabin of the helicopter.

Depending on the number of remaining seats, Jenkins said the team will continue collecting stranded individuals, drop them at an established drop-off point, or fly the injured to an emergency facility for treatment.

“Individuals who are trapped or stuck and are exceeding the means of a normal boat rescue, they call us to help assist,” Jenkins said. “I’m looking forward to going out and taking care of the mission and making a change, not only in someone else’s life, but also going out and reaching our hand out to South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, showing that Oklahoma is a helping state. We’ve always been that way.”

The crew’s mission also includes operational support on the ground provided by Army Sgt. Tiffani McBride, an aviation operations sergeant with Charlie Company. McBride’s primary role is to relay weather reports to the flight crew, track the number of rescues and the crew’s flight hours to report back to her home station.

“The key thing to take forward is just to be flexible,” McBride said. “Everything can change in a matter of minutes. You’ve got to go with the flow, but it’s all about helping people. I’m looking forward to it.”

Navy Assists Typhoon Mangkhut Recovery Efforts in Marianas, Guam

By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexandra Seeley, Amphibious Squadron 11

PACIFIC OCEAN -- The USS Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group, with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, are providing air assistance to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and local officials in the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam following Typhoon Mangkhut, Sept 12.

“The MEU assembled teams on board in order to provide water support on the island and generators for the local population if necessary” said Marine Corps 1st Lt. Cameron Field, the combat cargo team embarkation officer. “We also had company-sized teams of Marines ready to assist with debris clean-up at a moment’s notice.”

As support efforts continue, Task Force 76 is engaged in support activities on Rota, Tinian and Saipan islands in the Northern Mariana Islands. Two vessels with CTF 76 -- the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp and the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland -- are supporting FEMA requests for assistance through the tasking of personnel and distribution of supplies throughout the islands.

Following Navy and Marine Corps aerial surveys to ensure the safe movement of equipment, multiple types of aircraft are on standby to assist in any future operations, including an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 and MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262.

‘We Want to be Prepared for Anything’

"We want to be prepared for anything,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ryan McAllister, assistant officer in charge of Tactical Control Squadron 12, Detachment 1. “Making sure that our planes are ready to go at any moment for support is our top priority.”

To prepare for operations, the ships must position themselves to ensure launch and recovery of aircraft is effective and timely. This is accomplished through coordination and communication between watch officers on all ships, who must maintain precise time, distance and speed to ensure aircraft have a place to land or refuel. According to McAllister, having a ship in the right place is the most critical aspect of conducting air movement between the islands.

“It was fortunate Wasp was in the right location for quick aid,” McAllister said. “Our ability to be closer to shore allowed us to be forward-pressing and flexible in accomplishing our mission.”

The Wasp group continues to work with officials with efforts focused on augmenting and supporting FEMA in conjunction with Guam and local officials.

Face of Defense: Former Drill Sergeant Brings Leadership Experience to Commissioned Service

By Army Staff Sgt. Neysa Canfield, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- As the medical provider here, Army Capt. Jennifer Hawkins works closely with enlisted health care specialists to ensure service members throughout Kandahar Air Field receive proper medical care.

However, unlike for most officers, this is familiar and comfortable territory for Hawkins. The soldier from 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, wears the evidence on her right front pocket; the Army Drill Sergeant Identification Badge.

“When I became a drill sergeant, for me that’s when I really learned how to be a leader,” she said. “Breaking down a civilian and turning them into a soldier and understanding what it takes to do that, was a learning experience. There is not a single thing a soldier can present to me at this point in my career that will surprise me.”

Hawkins began her Army journey as a practical nursing specialist. She enlisted in October 1998 after graduating from Lake Havasu City High School in Arizona.

“My first assignment was at Fort Sam Houston [Texas] at a critical care unit, and I think that’s where my love of medicine first started,” Hawkins said. “I was promoted to the rank of sergeant within two years of being in the military, and I just kept climbing up the ranks very quickly.”

Drill Sergeant

As a 25-year-old staff sergeant, Hawkins was selected to go to the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School.

“Although I was afraid and, in my mind, not ready to be a drill sergeant, it’s what made me the leader I am today,” she said. “If I could, I would go back and do it all over again.”

After serving her time shaping civilians into soldiers, Hawkins was promoted to sergeant first class and continued to challenge and improve herself by earning her associate and bachelor’s degrees.

“At this point I thought to myself, ‘Well, what’s next?’ and then I heard about the physician assistant program for the Army and became interested,” she said. “However, once again I was afraid and pushed away from it when I heard people talking about how difficult the school was and how low the passing rate was.”

Hawkins’ battalion sergeant major persuaded her to apply for a direct commissioning board.

“I decided to do it and applied in October of 2009,” she said. “In February of 2010 the master sergeant list was released and I had been selected for promotion, a month or so later the board results came out, and out of 500 applicants, five were selected, and I was one of them.”

Decision Time

At 11 years in the military, Hawkins had an important decision to make.

“The day I raised my hand and I was no longer a [sergeant first class] promotable and was now a second lieutenant, I cried because I felt like an NCO through and through and now I was leaving it,” said Hawkins. “It was a very hard decision leaving the NCO corps but the experience is something I will always take with me.”

With the knowledge Hawkins holds, many superiors view her as an example of an experienced and extraordinary leader.

“Capt. Hawkins is a team player and she inspires senior [officers] like myself because she is all about the mission and putting her soldiers above herself,” said Navy Capt. Cynthia J. Gantt, commander of the Kandahar Air Field NATO Role III Multinational Medical Unit.

Hawkins and her team enhance the capabilities of the hospital, with Hawkins being the primary reason for that, Gantt said.

“She brings invaluable experience, particularly to the officers who have never had the honor or privilege of being enlisted,” she said. “She is able to coach and mentor us on how to better partner with our enlisted members to be able to provide better care for our patients.”

As Gantt and her team of sailors near their end of time in country, she said she is thankful for the opportunity to meet someone such as Hawkins and privileged to have had her as part of the team.

“We have some very highly trained surgeons and doctors in our team but we have definitely learned so much from Capt. Hawkins and her team that we will be able to take with us throughout the years,” she said. “Without a doubt I would work for Capt. Hawkins any day.”

Hawkins said she attributes her success to her experience as an enlisted soldier.

“I believe that having the experience of being in the shoes of a private, a junior NCO and a senior NCO have made me a better officer,” she said. “My priority will always be my soldiers, because at the end of the day a leader is a leader regardless of what you wear on your chest.”