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Red Horse Squadron saves town’s water supply
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107th MPAD, Florida National Guard BARTOW, Fla. (10/3/2004) — This Central Florida town seems to be in the middle of Mother Nature’s bulls-eye this year. Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne have all passed through this small Polk County town on their way through the state. Those storms had not threatened the town’s water supply until now. The nearby Peace River, which was expected to crest Sept. 29, flooded well over its banks and threatened a lift station that forwards contaminated water to the sewage treatment facility for Bartow. When Bartow city officials saw the crisis coming they asked the state for help. In response the state sent eight members of the Florida Air National Guard’s 202nd RED HORSE Squadron, a civil engineering unit based at the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, near Starke. Once dispatched, the Airmen began building a berm around the lift station and pumped the water around it out. The unit started work Sept. 28 and finished some last-minute cleanup before the weekend, said Master Sgt. Allen Brinkley, the team leader. The RED HORSE Squadron used 3,600 cubic yards of dirt, provided by Falcon Contracting of Bartow, to build the berm with two bulldozers, an excavator and a front-end loader in just two days. The team completed the berm and began pumping water away from the lift station’s electrical transformer. “We put a cork in the Peace River,” said Staff Sgt. Haywood Brown, a heavy equipment operator with the RED HORSE Squadron. The completed task ensured clean water would continue for about 6,500 customers, said Brinkley. The task was nothing new for the Airmen who have been on state active duty since Aug. 13. Since the four hurricanes that pummeled the state, the squadron has deployed in West Palm Beach, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Bradford County, Vero Beach and Pensacola. Many of their missions involved clearing roads, removing debris from airports and fixing some buildings. In Pensacola they focused on clearing and repairing schools. Now, the RED HORSE men and women perform missions in Lakeland - building a berm to prevent flooding of the Oak Hill Burial Park; Winter Haven to prevent further flooding from the Chain of Lakes; St. Lucie County removing of debris and roof repairs at six different schools; Indian River County debris removal for schools; and Bartow debris removal. The RED HORSE Squadron also supported the Global War on Terrorism last year; sending Airmen to Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and filled positions for deployed active duty Air Force members at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The squadron rebuilt the runway at Baghdad International Airport after coalition forces secured it. “You really made a difference in the town here,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Fleming, Assistant Adjutant General of Florida for Army, as he visited the work site thanking the Airmen for their efforts. Last 10 Stories
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2004 National Guard Bureau |
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