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LLANO, Texas—The members of the Llano First Baptist Church said, “thank you,” by hosting a dinner for the Texas National Guard’s Charlie Company, 2-149 Aviation Brigade at their church, October 19, 2018 in Llano.
The church was set up as an emergency point for people affected by the flash floods in the area.
The soldiers were welcomed at the door by members of the church. Once they were inside, the aviation company and members of Texas Task Force 1 were greeted by a Llano resident that was rescued earlier that day and was staying at the church.
Craig Barrick, youth pastor at the Llano First Baptist Church also welcomed the soldiers and began supper with a blessing over the mission and individuals. “We are so grateful for everything that you and your families sacrifice for our country and community,” Barrick said.
The church was outfitted to help victims of the flooding with six showers and four washing machines and dryers.
“It has been really exciting these past few days,” Barrick said. “I have been in several meetings coordinating with Llano County and other entities to bring as much help as we can to our community. We appreciate that while you are away from your families to help us.”
Members also dropped off lunch for the company the following day. Rescue flights were grounded most of the day because of inclement weather. So Guardsmen took a short break from their training exercises to eat lunch and give the volunteers a hands-on tour of the helicopters.
Wesley Fowler, a student from Llano Christian Academy, was eager to ask questions about the mechanics of what goes into a rescue. Capt. Charles Binney and Master Sgt. Mike Faulk gave Fowler and Barrick gave some expert knowledge of the Black Hawk helicopter and the standard processes that go into a rescue.
“It’s fun when we talk to people that are genuinely interested in what we are doing,” Binney said. “Sometimes at airshows it’s harder to connect because of the massive amount of people coming through.”
The small tour saw how the collapsible rescue baskets, patients and other emergency gear fit in the confined space and posed for photos in flight helmets and with the crew.
This is a lot more complicated than I would have imagined,” Fowler said referring to flight controls. “It’s amazing that pilots can focus on all of this inside the helicopter and still keep everyone that is in the back safe.”
Members of Texas Task Force 1 were able to answer questions about how the rescue winch works.
Rescue Swimmer Jeremy Van Nausdall explained how patients are pulled into the aircraft and then triaged.
As the rain began to fall again, the group went back into the Llano Municipal Airport building.
There were smiles on the faces of National Guardsmen, Task Force 1 members and the selfless volunteers from Llano during lunch.
“I really want to join the service, but I’m not sure with which branch,” Fowler said. “I still have some time before graduation,” then after an earnest look in the direction of the adults he added, “and to convince my mom.”
| Date Taken: | 10.19.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2018 14:50 |
| Story ID: | 297573 |
| Location: | LLANO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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