AFRCC assists with saving 330 in Tenn. naval station flooding

 

 

Scenes of flooding at Naval Support Activity Mid-South naval station in Millington, Tenn.


Capt. Jared Scott
Public Affairs
601st Air and Space Operations Center
1st Air Force

FLORIDA— After flash flooding of a nearby river in Millington, Tenn., the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base worked with the Navy, Coast Guard and local authorities Saturday to search for people trapped in buildings at a Navy installation.

A levee breach on a nearby river caused flooding of up to 5 feet in some areas of the housing facilities of Naval Support Activity Mid-South naval station.

"The on-scene Navy commander controlled search and rescue operations of the installation but requested additional air assets to assist in the search," said Lt. Col. Charles Tomko, AFRCC commander.

After the initial call from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the AFRCC contacted the Mississippi Wing to conduct air patrols to assist in searching the naval station's housing area.

"Along with Navy and Coast Guard assets that were already involved in the search, the AFRCC provided (Civil Air Patrol) aircraft to aid ground and water search crews in finding stranded people," Tomko said.

"We received the call around 4 p.m. Saturday and launched as soon as the weather allowed us to search for people stranded in the military housing area," said the incident commander for CAP, Lt. Col. Carlton Sumner, Mississippi Wing vice commander and director of logistics. "We flew from approximately 6 p.m. until we ran out of daylight. We flew an additional sortie on Sunday to make sure we didn't miss anyone."

With the combined efforts of the Navy, Coast Guard, local authorities, CAP and AFRCC, 330 Navy personnel and their dependents were rescued from the flooded Naval Support Activity housing facilities.

As the nation’s inland search and rescue mission coordinator, the AFRCC serves as the single agency responsible for coordinating federal search and rescue activities in the 48 contiguous states.

The rescue coordination center directly ties into the Federal Aviation Administration's alerting system and the U.S. Mission Control Center. In addition to Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking information, the AFRCC computer system contains resource files listing federal and state organizations that can conduct or assist in search and rescue efforts throughout North America.

"This levee breach in Tennessee is a prime example of how things can change in instant," said Maj. Gen. Garry C. Dean, Air Forces Northern commander. "In this case, the immediate response of these trained professionals ensured that all Navy personnel and dependents were accounted for. This is a great testament to the job that all the men and women involved in this joint search and rescue mission."