Wars, hurricanes, wildfires, the Guard does it all

Sun., July 28, 2024

Air National Guard members and volunteers receive guidance on where and how to search for survivors in Oso, Wash., March 27, 2014, following a deadly mudslide. The soldiers are assigned to the Washington National Guard’s 141st Civil Engineer Squadron. The mudslide occurred March 22, 2014, when a portion of a hillside collapsed, sending mud and debris over a square mile. (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense)

By Garrett Cabeza garrettc@spokesman.com (509) 459-5135

Name a war or a major hurricane that ripped apart the United States, and the Spokane Air National Guard has been there to help.

Even though it’s 100 years old, Guard members say many people don’t understand what they do.

Col. Angela O’Connell called the Air National Guard a “really good kept secret.”

The 116th squadron has been involved in every American war and conflict since World War I. The 141st Air Refueling Wing has also responded to major natural disasters in the region and across the country, including the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 and the Oso, Washington, landslide in 2014.

A hillside about 60 miles north of Seattle collapsed March 22, 2014, unleashing millions of tons of sand and soil that destroyed dozens of homes and killed 43 people.

Tech. Sgt. Michael Brown said the 141st sent several groups to the landslide, including a mobile kitchen group, chaplains and a search and extraction team. Brown helped media outlets with coverage at the site.

“I can’t even put into words how big that mudslide area was, so for them to search all of that was crazy,” he said.

Master Sgt. Caitlyn Ames said search and extraction members streamlined the search effort by searching the disaster area grid by grid to find bodies.

“Search and extraction played a major, major part in getting everybody out,” Ames said.

The wing’s search and recovery team assisted in identifying remains and contacting next of kin, Brown said.

“I know for me, personally, it was heartbreaking talking to some of the family members that would show up to the rubble pile every single day waiting to hear something, some sort of news of a family member that they could hold onto,” Brown said.

The wing helped recover the final victim days after the slide.

“I know that was huge for a lot of airmen in this wing,” Brown said.

More recently, the 141st provided support at President Joe Biden’s inauguration and at COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites.

Master Sgt. Aaron Kelm said he runs the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability (JISCC), which provides internet, phone and radio support in disaster incidents. He’s worked several Washington wildfires and hurricanes across the country.

Kelm’s team was at Biden’s inauguration, providing backup telecommunications in case the main system went down.

O’Connell said the wing provided a large airlift for vanguard units, including the 141st, to provide security for the inauguration.

She said the wing also provides a Disaster Relief Beddown System (DRBS) where members can set up a “city” that includes beds, a mobile kitchen, bathrooms, laundry machines, generators and air conditioning. JISCC works with DRBS to provide internet and phone service.

The wing has helped build schools in other countries, worked at local food banks during COVID-19, helped revamp a baseball field in Hillyard and completed several other community projects.

“When you walk down the hall (at Fairchild’s headquarters), it says, ‘Serving neighbor and nation,’” O’Connell said. “We take that very seriously.”

O’Connell said wing members take great pride in serving the community because they live in it. Brown agreed.

“Whether it’s here in Washington state or in another state, or even going overseas and deploying federally, it’s a point of pride for every single person in this unit to be able to do something that’s helping the community back here,” he said. “And everything we do ties back to the Spokane community in some way or another.”