Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Klestinski | Florida State Guard Staff Sgt. Chris Stockman moves two pallets of food at the State...... read more read more
Florida State Guard personnel assigned to Company B began their first activation in their organization’s history when they reported to the State Logistics Response Center (SLRC) in Orlando, Florida, on Aug. 28, 2023, as part of Florida’s response to Hurricane Idalia.
The SLRC is a facility that covers roughly 200,000 square feet that houses food, water and other emergency resources, which are dispersed throughout the Sunshine State during a hurricane or other emergency activations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Two Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) units, the 856th and the 356th Quartermaster Companies, represented the FLARNG’s main effort in accounting for, and the tracking of, these commodities as they were distributed to points of need in impacted areas. In dealing with Idalia, they had additional support from the recently restarted Florida State Guard (FSG).
The Florida State Guard (FSG) was first created in 1941 to take over the FLARNG’s responsibilities while it was deployed during World War II and dissolved shortly after the war in 1947. The FSG was formally reestablished in 2022 and its first class of Guardsmen graduated from Basic Operational Orientation Training (BOOT) Camp on June 30, 2023. This new iteration of the FSG makes Florida one of 22 states (and the territory of Puerto Rico) that maintain some form of state defense force in addition to its National Guard.
Members of the Florida State Guard wear the Army’s previous camouflage uniform, which is characterized by its “pixilated” appearance that distinguishes it from the Army’s current “Operational Camouflage Pattern” uniform.
New members of the FSG attended the 30-day BOOT Camp at Camp Blanding Joint Forces Training Center near Starke, Florida. This basic training experience taught them the basics of rank structure, marching movements, and various customs and courtesies that are part of working as part of a team with military forces.
FSG 1st Sgt. Rich Bahret, a former Marine sniper and Pinellas County deputy sheriff, said he first saw the FSG recruiting ad on Facebook.
“Even though I’m 58 years old, I still have something to give back, so I applied, and I was selected to go to the Florida State Guard’s first boot camp in 73 years,” Bahret said. “I graduated from Parris Island in 1983, but once I stepped back into the barracks, hung out with the troops, and went out to do drill, it was like 1983 all over again. All [my previous training] came back immediately, and I realized that I probably never should’ve left the Marines because it was the best feeling of camaraderie.”
FSG Pvt. Thomas Stanley works as a firefighter/paramedic for Orange County Fire Rescue in his civilian life. He’d experienced regimented training environments from having attended fire academy, but Stanley volunteered for the FSG with no prior military background.
“I’ve always been interested in the military,” Stanley said. “I like what I do with Fire Rescue, but I thought [the FSG] would be a cool, different way to serve a broader community. I figured it would also offer more training that would make me better at my job.”
After the new Guardsmen graduated from their basic training in late June, they had one drill weekend in August – and then they were activated for Idalia immediately afterwards.
“The Florida State Guard is brand new to the game, and we’ll assist the Florida National Guard and any other emergency management agencies that need our help to do anything that we can,” Bahret said. “What we hope to do is free up some of the National Guard folks, and those from civilian agencies, so they can focus on other tasks and make the state’s response to the hurricane more effective.”
Stanley said he welcomed the news that he’d been activated as part of Florida’s hurricane response. Part of his training last June included preparation to work at a point-of-distribution site (also known as “PODS”) where commodities are distributed to Floridians after a natural disaster.
“I was glad,” Stanley said. “I hope the state will be able to utilize us eventually in different missions to fill in the gaps where the National Guard can’t be.”
Army 1st Sgt. Rhett Roy, first sergeant for the 856th, supervised many of the FLARNG efforts at the SLRC during Idalia and saw the FSG’s contributions.
“They have their own chain of command to work parallel with us, and they all have a positive, can-do attitude to be a force multiplier as they were intended to be,” Roy said. “They’re already out there [in the warehouse] driving forklifts and running floor sweepers – they’ve been great for us.”
According to Bahret, a great deal of the new organization’s strength and value comes from the variety of skills and experience its members possess, and he is optimistic about the future potential of the organization.
“We have about 120 incredible men and women, everything from 18-year-old grocery store workers to 60-year-old former SEAL team members – it’s the most diverse group I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with in my life,” Bahret said. “We even have plans to get our folks who have construction experience to Camp Blanding soon so they can do damage assessment. I don’t know what missions we’ll do after the hurricane response, but I know we bring a lot of skill sets to the table.”
| Date Taken: | 08.30.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.01.2023 14:30 |
| Story ID: | 452656 |
| Location: | ORLANDO, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,306 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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