KERRVILLE, Texas – Early on July 4, almost 30 inches of rain fell within hours across Central Texas’s Hill Country, surging the Guadalupe River and triggering catastrophic flash flooding.
Within hours, Texas National Guard members sprang into action, launching search and rescue operations alongside civil authorities.
Today, hundreds of Guard members remain on mission to work with civil authorities in rescue and recovery operations. To date, Texas Army and Air National Guard crews have rescued at least 525 people via water and rooftop rescues, employing UH-60 Black Hawks, LUH-72 Lakotas, C-130s for aerial reconnaissance and dozens of high-water vehicles.
On Tuesday, Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, 30th chief of the National Guard Bureau, and Senior Enlisted Advisor John Raines joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer, the Texas adjutant general, for an aerial assessment of flood-affected areas and to visit Guard members supporting the response mission.
“SEA Raines and I are so proud of the incredible work our Guardsmen are doing to help these Texas communities,” Nordhaus said. “Our hearts go out to all those who have lost loved ones and seen their communities upended.”
“This response effort has been a tremendous example of the Guard’s exquisite homeland response capabilities and the power of our partnerships,” he said.
Gov. Abbott praised the Guard’s efforts, saying, “The National Guard’s role in rescuing Texans has been nothing short of remarkable.”
Through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or EMAC, Guard members from Arkansas, Arizona and North Dakota have bolstered Texas’s response. Arkansas deployed four Black Hawks and 22 Guard members for medevac, rooftop rescues and cargo missions. Arizona and North Dakota Guard members supported MQ-9 aerial reconnaissance along the debris-strewn Guadalupe River basin, with the North Dakota team recently completing their mission and returning home.
EMAC offers assistance during governor-declared states of emergency or disaster through a responsive, straightforward system that allows states to send personnel, equipment and commodities to assist with response and recovery efforts in other states.
On Sunday, a 16-member Czech search-and-rescue team with four K-9 dogs arrived from Germany via Kansas Air National Guard aircraft to aid riverbank searches. This support stems from the 32-year, 115-nation Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program relationship between Nebraska, Texas and the Czech Republic.
“We are deeply grateful to our Czech partners for sending their elite search-and-rescue team,” Nordhaus said. “This exemplifies the strength and mutually beneficial nature of the State Partnership Program.”
Nordhaus, Raines and Abbott also recognized Army and Air Guard members for their contributions. Army Capt. Connor Garrison, a company commander in the Texas Army Guard’s 1st Battalion, 108th Aviation Regiment, participated in evacuations of children from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, to safety in nearby Ingram, where they were received by first responders.
“The crews in the Texas Guard have a general sentiment of, ‘We never want there to be a reason to respond, but if there is, we want to be there,’” Garrison said. “The amount of pride I have for our team and the work that was put in for this response is hard to put into words.”
“There were so many families and individuals tragically affected by this event,” he said, “but the community and team actions that followed have been nothing short of amazing.”
County officials report there are still more than 100 people missing following the devastating flood surge. As the search and recovery mission continues, so does the National Guard—standing shoulder-to-shoulder and united in purpose with civil authorities.
“This interagency effort to save lives in this tragic disaster has been heroic,” Raines added. “This is where the Guard shines brightest, when we step up to help communities in need.”