AUSTIN, Texas -- An armada of U.S. military troops, search and rescue units, aircraft, vehicles, equipment and supplies are all being utilized in the hard-hit areas of southeastern Texas, and southwestern Louisiana, in the wake of epic flooding this week resulting from Hurricane-turned-Tropical storm Harvey.

On Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated the state's entire National Guard force of 12,000 in response to Harvey, and signed a memorandum of agreement approving a dual-status command -- which authorizes one commander to direct active-duty and National Guard forces in support of lead civilian agencies.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis approved Army Brig. Gen. Pat Hamilton as the dual-status commander in Texas.

The Department of Defense said the Texas National Guard currently has 16 aircraft and personnel conducting day and night wide-area search and rescue missions along the Texas coast from Corpus Christi to Houston.

That effort includes 10 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, four UH-72 Lakota multi-mission helicopters, and two CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopters.

On Monday, Army Col. Robert Manning said the New York Air National Guard has provided one C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, three HH-60 Pave Hawk search and rescue helicopters and two C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft.

Six rotary-wing aircraft from the Utah, Nebraska and North Carolina Army National Guard are also deployed to the area.

Manning said the DoD provided Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Seguin Auxiliary Airfield as a forward staging area to support the distribution of supplies and equipment to the affected areas.

He added that the search and rescue assets were deployed to Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas.

Air Force Maj. Gen. James C. Witham, the director of domestic operations for the National Guard Bureau and deputy director of the Air National Guard, said Tuesday that the priority in the region in and around Houston remains saving life, limb and property.

Witham announced that the National Guard Bureau has identified "20,000 to 30,000 additional soldiers and airmen that could be used, if Texas asked for them."

"The governor of Texas has requested an [Army National Guard] military police battalion and Air National Guard security forces to assist local, state and federal law enforcement, specifically in the heavily flooded areas," Witham said. "That big metropolitan area around Houston is where we think most of that assistance will be required."

Witham said the Defense Department will provide whatever capabilities the people of Texas need to survive and recover from Harvey.

-- National Guard Rescues 3,500 people --

Witham said National Guardsmen have been involved in rescuing more than 3,500 people, and that the rescues continue.

"Most of those … have been by some type of boat, but these also include almost 300 hoist rescues, which, as you know, are very technically difficult, in terms of hoisting people off roofs where they're inaccessible by any other method," Witham said.

Guardsmen have also rescued 300 pets.

"It's not only the humans associated with it … as we continue to alleviate the pain and suffering that the … citizens of Texas are experiencing right now," Witham said.

The DoD said the tally of Air National Guard representation includes:

  • Alaska: About 13 airmen with the 176th Rescue Wing;
  • California: About 90 airmen with the 129th Rescue Wing;
  • Connecticut: A C-130 Hercules transport plane with eight airmen from the 103rd Airlift Wing;
  • Florida: Nearly 100 airmen with the 920th Rescue Wing;
  • Kentucky: Nearly 20 airmen with the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron;
  • New York: More than 100 airmen, a C-130, three HH-60 Pave Hawk search-and-rescue helicopters and two C-17 transport jets with the 106th Rescue Wing; and
  • Oregon: About 15 members of the 125th Special Tactics Squadron whose missions include rescue as well as restoring airfields so supplies can be flown in.

-- Coast Guard Crews Rescue 3,600 People --

The U.S. Coast Guard said air crews and punt teams, with 21 shallow-draft vessels, from around the nation are assisting in urban search and rescue efforts and have saved more than 3,600 people from flooded homes and streets in the greater Houston area.

In total, there are 21 helicopters assisting with around-the-clock rescue operations in Houston: seven MH-60 Jayhawks and 14 MH-65 Dolphins, as well as 2,000 Coast Guard responders. 

"The Coast Guard is continuing to work with all federal, state and local agencies for rescue operations in the Houston area. We have pulled assets and resources from across the country to create a sustainable force," said Vice Adm. Karl Schultz, commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area. "This is a united effort that is still in the early stages and we are focused on the safety of those in the affected area and saving lives." 

"Our crews have been operating non-stop," said Capt. Kevin Oditt, Coast Guard Incident Commander. "This is an all hands on deck event bringing crews from all over the nation to help with our response."

-- Navy Squadrons Rescue 227 on First Day in Houston --

Two Navy helicopter squadron detachments are also conducting rescue operations in Houston.

The crews relocated to Easterwood Airport on Wednesday after making 227 helicopter rescues while flying from Fort Worth on Tuesday.

The 112 Sailors from the Dusty Dogs and Ghostriders of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadrons (HSC) 7 and 28 (respectively) moved their staging site and six MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters in order to be even closer to the disaster zone in the wake of Harvey.

The Navy said the new site will allow for a drastically reduced response time.

"We have multiple systems within the helicopter that allow us to fly at night, with the forward looking infrared camera, or FLIR ball, as we call it, up forward that allows us to look around at night." said helicopter pilot Lt. Grant Kingsbery, a Uvaldi, Texas native and Texas A&M graduate. "We have spotlight and floodlight that allows us to look around and everyone in the crew is wearing night-vision goggles to help us see better."

In addition to the visibility aides, the Navy said the helicopters are equipped with an onboard rescue hoist, the ability to hover at night and an average of 3 hours of fuel to aide in the efforts. 

In a typical Navy scenario, HSC squadrons serve aboard ships, often hovering over the ocean and serving as plane guards for other aircraft that may launch off ships.

The city scape, however, proved to be a drastic change for the crew from their typical flights, according to the Navy.

"In the open ocean you don't have to worry about towers - you're 70 feet over the water, you don't have to worry about running in to anything," Kingsbery said. "Here, especially with the power outage, the street lights are out and most of the towers are unlit now because their battery backup has run out."

Lt. Benjamin Bontrager, a pilot from Tuesday's rescue mission and native of Mishawaka, Indiana, said, "my goal the entire night was to fly as fast as I can, as safely as I can and as precisely as I can to make sure that those people get out of the terrible situation they were in."

About the conditions as they compare to typical Navy flights, Bontrager said it's a much more crew intensive environment.

"It poses a greater safety risk with the towers and other aircraft flying around. We've got, you know, 40 aircraft flying around at one time in a small area all trying to do the same thing," he said. "It's a very task-saturated environment, and when you add nighttime to it, it's just that - times 10."

HSC-7 has 77 sailors and four helicopters while HSC-28 has 35 sailors and two helicopters assigned to the relief efforts.

At the start of the day, they had flown 13 sorties with 37 hours in the air, 227 rescues (21 by hoist), including 11 dogs and one kitten.

-- JBSA Coordinating Rescue Efforts --

The DoD said the U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), headquartered at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, deployed Task Force 51 to Kelly Field Annex adjacent to JBSA-Lackland to provide command and control over military assets reacting to Harvey, and is coordinating support for civil authorities.  

Task Force 51's mission is to deploy a contingency command post to conduct defense support of civil authority, homeland defense and theater security cooperation.

"We are prepared to help the State of Texas and FEMA with saving lives." said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, ARNORTH commander. "So far they have done a great job responding to the needs of the people, but the weather isn't breaking so we will stay vigilant and increase our posture to assist as needed."

Their efforts began on Aug. 24, when JBSA-Seguin, with the support of the 502nd Air Base Wing, said it set up an "Incident Support Base" operation, in coordination with the Defense Logistics Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The mission included pre-positioning of supplies including water, meals, blankets and other resources closer to the affected areas.

"We stood up [Aug. 24] and we have been manned 24 hours a day since with a cadre of very experienced and dedicated emergency managers and emergency support function representatives from the 502nd ABW and 59th MDW," Col. Jonathan Wright, 502nd Installation Support Group commander and EOC director.  "The EOC has provided a critical link between the JBSA Crisis Action Team for strategic command and control to the Unit Control Centers for tactical execution.  We also have representatives from the Port of San Antonio and the Air Force liaison officer to FEMA, as well as maintaining communication with the city of San Antonio's EOC."

During normal operations, JBSA-Seguin Auxiliary Airfield serves as a flying training location for pilots from the 12th Flying Training Wing, located at JBSA-Randolph.

JBSA-Camp Bullis was also tapped for Harvey response, as a bed-down location for both the Texas Army National Guard and Texas Air National Guard, which was activated for the relief efforts. 

The 502nd ABW Emergency Operations Center has been at the hub of emergency management actions since the storm began to threaten landfall. 

"We've been ready for situations like this," Wright said. "Our job requires us to coordinate actions across multiple command and jurisdictions in an efficient manner that maximizes resources across JBSA. We're proud to perform this enabling role in support of Hurricane Harvey recovery operations."

-- Rescue Teams Operating in Louisiana --

As directed by Gov. John Bel Edward, DoD said the Louisiana Guard has activated about 210 soldiers and airmen, with an additional 230 full-time Guard members supporting efforts.

The DoD said last week, the Louisiana National Guard began positioning Guard members, high-water vehicles and boats in southern Louisiana parishes, including Calcasieu, Vermillion, Orleans and Lafayette.

"Being ready and in place is as important as any training that we do, and our engagements at parish level are absolutely critical," said Army Maj. Gen. Glenn H. Curtis, Louisiana's adjutant general. "In anticipation of the storm's track, we continue pre-positioning equipment and vehicles in potentially affected areas, as well as responding to the immediate needs of today."

In addition to vehicles and boats, the Louisiana Guard has eight helicopters ready to support search and rescue, evacuation and reconnaissance missions as needed, officials said.

-- Rescue Tips --

The Coast Guard continues to urge Texas residents to:

  • Don't go into the attic because rescuers from the air cannot see you
  • Mark the roof to be seen from the air
  • Wave your sheets and towels to be noticed.

"This is still dangerous and life threatening event," said Oditt. "Heed all local emergency safety messages and continue to monitor weather conditions in your area."

Coast Guard officials said if you are in a flooding situation, stay calm, do not panic and get to high ground immediately.

Do not call for rescue if you are not in a life-threatening situation.

Rescue teams are prioritizing rescues by urgency, and said they are not able to facilitate requests for assistance on social media.

The Coast Guard said if you, your friends, or family need emergency assistance, call and provide your location, zip code, street name and number of people in need of assistance to 911 first, your local county emergency operation center and then Coast Guard Houston-Galveston command center at:

  • 281-464-4851
  • 281-464-4852
  • 281-464-4853
  • 281-464-4854
  • 281-464-4855

For those who want to volunteer in the rescue effort, please call Harris County voluntary hotline at 713-881-3100.