Maryland Army National Guard soldiers return home after Hurricane Helene support in North Carolina
by Maj. Ben Hughes
EDGEWOOD, Md. – A Maryland Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter and eight soldiers returned to Weide Army Heliport located at the Army Aviation Support Facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground – South, October 22, 2024, after more than three weeks of Hurricane Helene support operations in western North Carolina.
The Chinook aircrew flew 33 sorties, moving 97 first responders and passengers, including rescuing 20 people and 6 dogs. Since their heavy lift missions began, they transported more than 375,000 lbs. of cargo and supplies to communities in North Carolina hardest hit by Hurricane Helene. During the recovery efforts, the aircrew delivered generators, food, water, cold-weather clothing, medical supplies, formula, diapers, and other baby items.
The large helicopter, which spans almost 100 feet, often had to land in empty parking lots or open fields in the mountains while dealing with bad weather and avoiding other obstacles like power lines and trees to get the supplies to where people needed them most.
“It was a challenge going in every day and not knowing what we could prepare for,” said Maryland Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lyndsey Phelps, a CH-47 Chinook pilot assigned to Bravo Company, 3-126th General Support Aviation Battalion. “We struggled to get an accurate idea of the landing zones before the flight because any imagery we had was from before the storm and many of the locations we landed were unrecognizable. However, no one ever complained. In fact, the crew was always looking for the next mission.”
The aircrews, which operated out of the Army Aviation Support Facility at the Mid-Carolina Regional in Salisbury, North Carolina before flying to the Asheville area each day for missions, previously trained with their North Carolina Army National Guard counterparts and other Army aviation units. Maryland Army National Guard aviators also supported relief efforts in North Carolina helping to evacuate 53 people after Hurricane Florence in 2018.
“Having worked with many of them in the past, we’ve built a strong mutual respect and appreciation for specialized skills and training that we take part in to prepare for disasters such as this,” said Maryland Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Teri Thomas, a senior flight instructor at the Maryland Army Aviation Support Facility. “This established trust enables us to carry out missions safely and effectively, ensuring we achieve our objectives together.”
Governor Wes Moore authorized the mobilization of 12 Maryland Army National Guard soldiers and two helicopters on September 27th. Five of those soldiers and three civilian firefighters of the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (MD-HART) returned to Maryland on October 7th after their lifesaving missions.
Throughout MD-HART missions, the crew rescued 83 individuals including children and infants, as well as 20 dogs and cats. They conducted 59 hoist missions to rescue people and deliver food and water to people who were cut off from the ground-based rescue efforts because roads were blocked or washed out by the flood waters.
The MD-HART crew, consisting of Maryland soldiers who are pilots, crew chiefs, and a hoist operator on a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter along with three rescue technicians from the Baltimore, Howard, and Montgomery County fire departments, completed 29 sorties during their nine-day mission.
“On the first day of search and rescue, I looked back to see [crew chief] First Sgt. Lucas comforting a crying woman, [hoist operator] Sgt. Bunch securing a mother and child, [rescue technician] Mike Szczesniakowski holding a pair of frightened dogs and [rescue technicians] Tim Beatty and Chris Thompson going back down the hoist to squeeze one more person in the cabin,” said Maryland Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brian McCord, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment. “I was profoundly moved by their dedication to the mission and their endurance to keep driving on day after day. Those guys really love what they do, and it makes me proud to be on their team.”
On one mission, Maryland Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Will Tobin, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot assigned to Charlie Company MEDEVAC, 1-169th Aviation Regiment, recalled rescuing an isolated family on a very steep mountainside near sunset. According to Tobin, an unwritten rule of rescue flying is “don’t look in the back,” because it is the pilot’s job to just the helicopter no matter who is being hoisted up. That mindset helps pilots like Tobin to compartmentalize so emotions don’t outweigh safe decision-making during a natural disaster response.
Tobin heard the crew chief say that there was a mom and dad with two babies about to be put in the rescue basket. Having a toddler himself, he focused hard on the challenging task as daylight dwindled. After the rescue was complete, he peered through the equipment behind him to see one of the babies smiling and looking back at him. After he reflected on that mission, Tobin said he was glad he looked in the back of his helicopter that day.
After the first few days of high-volume isolated area rescues, The MD-HART crew spent most of their time responding directly to dispatched calls for help and conducting wide area searches. Later, the crew would also max out the Black Hawk’s cargo capability with food and water to distribute at key locations as the mission shifted to supporting people who remained in isolated areas.
“Every time we landed at a drop-off location, I watched our crew chiefs be almost squeezed to death, kissed, and thanked with tears in their eyes,” said Tobin. “People were truly grateful and those exchanges were worth the years of training and practice to be there in that exact time of need.”
Maryland Army National Guard 2nd Lt. Shawn Abbasi, assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, served as aviation liaison officer for the Task Force. He would coordinate with the Emergency Operating Center in Raleigh to relay mission information to the National Guard aircrews.
“The most challenging part for the crew, honestly wasn’t even the long days or the time away from families, but seeing the effect of the misinformation about the government either not helping or even attempting to mitigate rescue and relief efforts,” said Abbasi. “I think every pilot, flight engineer, and crew chief would agree this was one of the most meaningful missions we have ever supported. Everyone came ready to work and worked hard day in and day out. It was difficult to see the diversion in communities and unfortunately slowed some relief efforts in the latter weeks.”
Both aircrews worked with non-profit organizations, like Operation Airdrop and Samaritan’s Purse as well as FEMA, to get the donated supplies to the people in need. Civilian volunteers at regional airport distribution hubs helped load the helicopters and World Centralized Kitchen provided warm meals to the soldiers at the regional airport. According to Phelps, it helped the aircrew to keep going on the long days.
“The flight engineers in particular went above and beyond,” said Phelps. “We would land and shut down to drop off supplies and they would give kids a sticker or a tour of the aircraft. It was so heartwarming to see the smiles on these kids’ and parents’ faces after losing so much.”
