Members of Nebraska Task Force 1 have returned home after a deployment to Texas, where they helped local officials with community preparedness efforts. Ashley Engler, was the team leader on the mission and said the team’s mission differed from many previous disaster responses.
Rather than arriving after catastrophic flooding, the federally deployed team was sent to San Antonio before floodwaters reached their assigned area in Live Oak County. “Our major part of what we did was pre-planning, pre-staging, helping with reconnaissance, whether it was aerial or water recon, and going door to door to ensure that the neighbors in Live Oak County were aware of what was going on and the potential flooding that was going to occur,” Engler says
Engler stressed that Nebraska Task Force 1’s role was not to replace local responders, but to provide additional support based on what local officials needed. “When we got there, the first thing we asked them is, ‘What do you need?'” Engler says. “We’re not there to take over. We’re there to help support their needs.”
Engler says the team worked alongside local, state and federal agencies to identify vulnerable residents, inspect flood-prone areas and support emergency managers. “It’s good to be home,” Engler says. “But we also know that this is what we signed up for. No matter what state calls us, no matter what community calls us, we’re here for them.”