…In our favorite rocket ship, er, field communications unit. It’s moving day today for the gang and other TERT teams, as they bid farewell to their initial quarters near a school, and head down the road about 15 minutes to a FEMA dormitory trailer camp that also provides a hot meal, and (in theory) a hot shower, a first in 2 weeks for some of the team. This is meant as a joint base for TERT and other out-of-state personnel operating in the region (public safety, public works, support services). HAVOC-1 is able to continue to operate as it was as the previous location, as both a command center for our staff, and a 311 center for Bumcombe County. Personnel are continuing on 12-hour shifts aboard HAVOC, and in the Buncombe County PSCC as well. It’s been reported that operations continued aboard HAVOC while they were moving. This may be the first recorded case of call taking while in motion!
Final logistics arrangements are nearing completion for OH-2, who will rally in Cambridge Monday evening for an early departure Tuesday morning. A 3 person logistics crew from within the Committee will take down a fresh crew of 10 (TERT OH-2) and associated supplies on Tuesday morning, and return Wednesday afternoon with TERT OH-1 and the supply trailer and large tent went initially went down with them.
This is easily the largest and most complex deployment in our team’s history. The personnel who have or will soon deploy, the support team back in Ohio, and the Committee writ large have all worked literally every day, around the clock, since late September, on this mission. We are incredibly thankful to everyone on Ohio TERT, of course. And, we acknowledge the support of the Ohio APCO and NENA chapter Boards. We are equally as thankful to the agencies that have allowed their personnel to deploy, to the companies and businesses who have lent assistance, and to the family and friends of the team, who have sacrafised their loved ones and kept things moving on the homefront. This lift has been and will continue to be very much a team effort. As we approach a ‘shift change’ and the halfway point of our deployment, we remain focused on the mission at hand: to help our Brothers and Sisters in Western North Carolina and the communities they protect.