On a rainy November morning, Danny Williams is flanked by an auditor and a public affairs specialist from his agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, navigating from Savannah along the westward winding Interstate 16 to some of Georgia’s most rural areas—Montgomery and Laurens counties.
The trio are a part of a response team deployed to support USACE’s Savannah District, tasked with overseeing the debris removal effort in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s wrath.
The storm ravished the area in September, leaving a trail of destruction that now requires assistance with debris removal.
As the triad prepared to visit debris sites in Montgomery and Laurens counties, the extent of the devastation became increasingly apparent. Fallen and uprooted trees, structural damage to homes and buildings, flooded fields and other debris was evidence of the storm’s attack on the area. Even with the visible destruction, the road to recovery presents promise and a renewed sense of purpose.
With steady progress being made, there are still challenges to face along the way. A most recent obstacle to the cleanup was the sudden flash floods in the area that caused road washout and closures, halting the debris removal.
While flash flooding can halt cleanup, smaller day-to-day issues can also test the team’s tenacity.
Smaller challenges like sketchy cell service and loss of wi-fi depending on the area’s devastation, Williams said, pale in comparison to the satisfaction he gets in being able to help someone who has faced hardship due to an event.
“We chose to come,” Williams said, “they didn’t choose a hardship.”
Helping others he said, “may be an inconvenience to your home life,” but knowing you’re doing something to help other people is worth the inconvenience.
Williams is the mission’s resident engineer, responsible for assessing the debris removal operations.
Donna Williams a New Orleans District auditor, no relation to Danny, says during a disaster, making sure tax dollars are spent properly is a good feeling.
“We want to make sure we are doing what we need to do by making sure they [contractors] do what they are supposed to do.”
Donna says knowing you’re helping is also a good feeling and shares an experience from a prior deployment.
She said an elderly gentleman approached her about getting a blue roof and directed him to the local library to apply. After telling her he had no transportation to get to the library, Williams immediately pulled out her phone and help the gentleman apply. After seeing the condition of his roof, “I knew it would likely be his forever roof as he had no insurance and no money to get it repaired,” she said. Having no influence to determine when his roof would be applied, “I decided to track his application through the process. The next day the blue roof was installed.” That she said, made the deployment with its long days and hours, worth every second.
Someone must tell the USACE story during disaster missions and that’s the role of public affairs specialist Nikki Nobles. Nobles has been tasked with acquiring imagery and documentation.
“As the public affairs specialist for this mission, my role is to acquire imagery and documentation of our efforts. We have employees from all over USACE here who bring a variety of expertise to support the mission. It’s important for the public to see firsthand that we have boots on the ground, working to serve their communities.”
USACE’s efforts extend beyond removing debris; they’re about rebuilding lives, restoring normalcy, and renewing hope. From assessing damages to ensuring every dollar is spent wisely, each team member has an important role in the recovery.
Danny Williams, Donna Williams, and Nikki Nobles each bring unique skills to the field but are driven by a shared purpose. "We chose to come," Danny Williams reflected, underscoring the USACE commitment to communities in need.
These selfless teammates are only a minute representation of the many USACE employees who volunteer their time despite the challenges they face—poor cell service, long hours—are minor sacrifices compared to the satisfaction of knowing they’re making a difference.
In times of hardship, it’s the selfless service of those who leave the comforts of their homes, deploying to help those in need, return to a life of normalcy. Through their efforts, they not only clear a path forward for communities devastated by nature’s fury but also remind each of us of the compassion and dedication that define the USACE mission.
USACE is prepared and ready to respond to natural and human-made disasters and overseas contingencies. When disasters occur, USACE teams and other resources are mobilized from across the country to assist our local districts and offices to deliver our response missions.
| Date Taken: | 11.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2024 15:51 |
| Story ID: | 485583 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Trio finds purpose and satisfaction in supporting emergency response missions, by Nakeir Nobles, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
