THE GUARD WAS THERE!
Pennsylvania Army and Air National Guard Respond to Flood in "Operation Washout"
by
Spc. Jo Michael
29 Jun 06

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP – More than 1,000 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard were involved water rescues, evacuations and other emergency operations during widespread flooding that caused a disaster emergency to be declared in 46 of the state’s 67 counties June 27.

Pennsylvania National Guard personnel were involved in nearly 1,000 water rescues after a state of emergency was declared late Tuesday night by Gov. Edward G. Rendell.

Guard members also assisted with security, distributing food, delivering water buffaloes and helping Pennsylvania State Police man control points.

“Things are going very well operationally,” said Col. Xavier Stewart, emergency operations coordinator for the Pennsylvania National Guard. “When you have a mission in your backyard, people really want to serve.” The Guard’s operation center plans to support “Operation Washout” through early July.

Washout was not too strong a term, in some areas more than 8 inches of rain fell. In northeastern and southeastern Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna and Delaware watersheds, water levels reached record levels. In northeastern Pa. it passed the historic 1972 Agnes flood, considered by many as the most historic flood in this region of Pennsylvania. During the emergency, tens of thousands of people were evacuated from the city of Wilkes-Barre.

Guard aviators flew more than 55 hours flying CH-47 and UH-1 helicopters to assist in the evacuations. During one mission they flew to the small town of Conklin, N.Y., just over the Pennsylvania border, to rescue residents trapped by flood waters.
Residents of Conklin and the surrounding area were evacuated from their homes Wednesday as the Susquehanna River rose to nearly 30 feet.

Local officials evacuated over 4,000 residents to the Susquehanna Valley High School in Conklin, but as the river continued to rise the school became surrounded by water, trapping the evacuees.
Crews from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 2/104th Aviation Battalion and 628th Division Aviation Support Battalion were part of the aviation team.

The Pennsylvania Guard dispatched five CH-47 helicopters to transport the evacuees from the high school to Conklin Fire Station No. 2. From there, they were transported by bus to emergency shelters.
One of the crews was led by Maj. John Kubitz and Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Quinton. They maneuvered their CH-47 “Chinook” helicopter around power lines and trees to land on the football field of the high school.
Once on the ground, crew members Sgt. Carl Hinton, Sgt. Dan Schmick, Sgt. Gregory Karli and Sgt. Justin Reynolds took charge of leading the evacuees onto the helicopter and securing them for the flight.

Staff Sgt. Greg Heinbaugh and Sgt. William Wrede were crew members on another Chinook when a call came in that three people were trapped on a rooftop.

With nowhere to land, their crew was forced to hover over the house while Wrede was lowered in a jungle penetrator to rescue the residents. Heinbaugh was responsible for operating the hoist and directing the pilots.

During a mid-week press conference Gov. Rendell praised the National Guard for its efforts. “The storm system devastated a large portion of the commonwealth. Our National Guard performed superbly in what was many times a difficult and dangerous environment.”