Navy Longhorns Blog is launched

Recently, on January 5th, 2008 at 6:45 two HH-1N Huey helicopters were airborne and heading to the flooded area of Fernley, NV, 30 miles from Naval Air Station Fallon.

In command of the aircraft was Lt. Brent Hardgrave, a SAR pilot with the NAS Fallon Longhorns. Cmdr. Doug Russell, the base executive officer was the second pilot, with two Aviation Warfare Systems Operators rounding out the crew: Petty Officer First Class Michael Pilarski running the hoist, and Petty Officer Second Class Ricky Pierron suited up in a wet suit to provide rescue swimmer support.

Upon arrival, the crew, under the direction of the civilian authorities, was immediately put to work. Many people were stranded by the rising waters, and evacuation efforts became the priority. The helicopter crew made multiple trips between the victims’ houses and a staging point where bus transportation was shuttling people to a temporary shelter set up in the local high school. Several families were able to climb into the aircraft from their flooded front lawns, a hover maneuver called a “one skid,” while two folks were hoisted to safety from the roof of their car.

In all, the Navy rescued 18 people from the flooded neighborhood.  Others were picked up by boats, or in the shallower areas, people were able to wade out to rescue vehicles. The evacuation was an operational success: not a single injury or death was reported.

A second Huey was not needed in the flood zone, and instead provided communications support between the Navy and the civilian authorities. NAS Fallon stood up its Emergency Operations Center to support the efforts in Fernley, and to provide a liaison between local and state emergency managers and the Navy Region Southwest chain of command. The Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center launched an SH-60 Seahawk later in the day to provide the Nevada State Division of Emergency Management aerial photos of the stricken area. Other Navy efforts to help included providing 140,000 empty sandbags from NAS Fallon’s Seabee detachment, CBMU-303, and staging several Coast Guard C-130’s that arrived to deliver FEMA-supplied Meals-Ready-to-Eat and bottled water.

The Search and Rescue assets at NAS Fallon are here to provide assistance if a military aircraft goes down. “The real-world experience of helping people in peril, whether they are lost in the wilderness or caught in a flood, is not only good training, but what being a good neighbor is all about,” stated Cmdr. Russell, the Search and Rescue team leader