CODE 3 Introduction to a SAR team – Search and Rescue

As long as people have been venturing out into the wilderness and getting lost, there have been those that have felt compelled to go save them. Usually these are individuals that have specialized training, skills, equipment, and the courage to venture into the worst possible terrain, at the worst possible times, in the worst possible weather. As with a lot of our first responder organizations, the systematic approach we have here in the US was born out of war. Early in the 20^th century, several nations needed to develop an approach to find and recover downed aircraft, ships, and missing soldiers. According to NASAR; “Contemporary SAR systems provide response for overdue, lost, injured, or stranded people in many environments.” My experience has all been in rural “wilderness” which is generally considered to be a region that is generally uninhabited and devoid of any manmade amenities. However, this can also describe other locations (even urban) that have suffered a disaster either manmade or natural, or a terrorist attack.

Search and Rescue was my first foray into my life as a first responder and it remains one of my favorites. There are SAR Teams (Search and Rescue) throughout the world, most of them run by the national military or government agencies. Here, in the US, we have a combination of local county, state, and federal agencies that work in a mutual support model for search and rescue responsibilities. According to Wikipedia; “In January 2008, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the National Response Framework (NRF) which serves as the guiding document for a federal response during a national emergency. In addition to the NRF there are 15 annexes relating to Emergency Support Functions (ESF) which includes other federal agencies that contain resources or expertise to support an emergency. Search and Rescue is included as ESF-9 and divides SAR into 4 primary elements while assigning a federal agency with the lead role for each of the 4 elements.

• Structural Collapse-USAR: Department of Homeland Security, FEMA


• Waterborne: US Coast Guard, USCG Auxiliary


• Inland-wilderness: United States Department of Interior, National Park Service


• Aeronautical: United States Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, Civil Air Patrol, United States Air Force Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service, US Navy (secondary missions for helicopter squadrons.)

In the US SAR standards are developed primarily by ASTM International and the US NFPA which are then used by organizations such as NASAR (National Association of Search and Rescue) to develop training that will meet or exceed those standards.”

In all reality, it would take a HUGE event for the federal agencies to step in and take over the incident command of a local SAR operation, possibly a Yellowstone caldera eruption or 9-11 type event. Usually, it is the local SAR teams in conjunction with other local first responder agencies that will be involved in a mutual aid scenario . In my neck of the woods, that can include local EMS, city PD, county sheriff deputies, border patrol, US Forest Service, and maybe the state patrol. We also have access to a couple of helicopter units, one that is a part of a life flight type service and one that specializes in SAR operations.

OK OK OK…. I know that was very dry, but we had to get that out of the way. Because in all reality being part of a local volunteer SAR team can be one of the most exciting parts of your life! Seriously, where else are you going to get to train and work with 4×4’s, quads, horses, K9’s, jet boats, snow mobiles, snow cats, rappelling, land navigation, austere emergency medicine, tracking, and maybe get to possibly save lives? You get this training from some of the best sources out there. I myself, have trained with county sheriff, local PD, EMS (to be fair I am on both teams), US Border Patrol, US Forest Service, and the Joel Hardin Visual Tracking System. These activities/trainings are things that many adrenaline-fueled personalities (like myself) would actually pay money for and yet they are almost always paid for by the team!

So, each SAR team in each local area is going to be organized differently as far as equipment and skill sets depending on their unique needs for their local area. I can only speak upon my experience on my own SAR team. Generally, a local volunteer SAR team is going to be a non-profit that falls under the jurisdiction of the local Sherriff as a volunteer organization. Being a non-profit it will have a board of directors, a training officer, and a safety officer. It will then be broken down into teams. For our team this consists of:

• 4×4 team


• boat team


• dive team


• swift water rescue team


• snowmobile team


• tracking team


• avalanche rescue


• rope team (rappelling)


• communications


• Incident Command

In order to become involved in my local SAR team, I first talked with a friend of mine that was already on the team. From him, I learned when the monthly membership meeting was and also found their web site. On the website, I down loaded and filled out a membership application.  I would suggest going to any of the meetings or trainings that they may have, that are open to the public. As part of my application process I had to go through a background check. Generally, if you have no felonies or recent lesser convictions you should be ok, but check with your local SAR team for their local protocols. I then went through an interview process talking about what sort of relevant experience I already had. For me most of that experience came from my involvement and training with the local CPT team in our area where we had covered land navigation, wilderness first aid, etc. They also asked if I would commit to getting my first aid/CPR certification and also study and test for my SAR Tech III certification and go through a year long probationary period before I would become a full voting member of the team. The SAR Tech certification system was first developed in 1991 by NASAR to evaluate three levels of search responders to that a measureable, consistent set of standards, and skills for both individual responders and teams could be had by incident commanders. The three levels are SAR Tech III, SAR Tech II and SAR Tech I / Crew-leader 3.

Again, the decision to join my local SAR team has been one of the most rewarding life choices I have made. It has lead me to a career as first responder among several teams. If you are already a member of your local CPT team I would strongly encourage you to look into plugging in and volunteering with one of your own local volunteer first responder teams.

I will be discussing in further articles the fundamentals that actually go into a Search and Rescue call out.

Spyder Thompson

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1st Gear First Responder gear review –CATI Body Armor EMS Package AR600 with the multi-curve CQB lvl 3+ plates

1^st Gear — First Responder gear review

CATI Body Armor EMS Package AR600 with the multi-curve CQB lvl 3+ plates

 

Body armor really is one of those things that truly falls into the category of equipment and skill sets it is far better to have and never need than need and not have. Because the one and only day that you really do need it and don’t have it, could be your last. It’s really a pretty simple insurance plan. But that’s really how the 1^st responder community really approaches most things. It’s the reason we take the time to completely refuel, check oil and fluids, oxygen levels and completely clean and restock the ambulance when get done with what is usually several back to back bad calls at 03:30 in the morning. Because 1^st responders know that one of the fates named Murphy, is just watching and waiting with a Cheshire cat grin for you to not to just once to teach you in, no indefinite terms, that you really should have. It’s best just not to tempt the fates when one already works so closely to death.

 

So, I work in a VERY rural district in the Rocky Mountains. There are times that runs can take up to 6 hours’ round trip. There are times that even running code 3 (with lights and sirens) it will take us an hour to get to our patient. When you live in such a remote community you must rely on yourself and your team, simply put, because there is no one else to call for timely back up. Often, we are called out to remote back country locations that are way out in the middle of nowhere and we may be the only 1^st responder team going (as in no law enforcement) even if we request law enforcement there are times they just cannot get out to you in time. It is times like these that being self-reliant is the best prescription. There are also a ridiculous number of (jregistered) firearms per household. Don’t get me wrong here, I am a huge support of our rights to arms for self-protection (pretty much every fellow first responder I know are) but there are times that you may be dealing with a mentally unstable individual with a large amount of high caliber firearms back in the middle of nowhere that needs medical help but you could be walking into a potentially an unsafe situation. It is times like these that I have my own EMS body armor on hand.

 

My personal choice in this equipment is CATI armor’s EMS package using the AR600 with the multi-curve CQB. According to their website: AR600 Armor Plate is an Ultra High Harness (UHH) steel used in the most demanding of armor applications.  While it is not a true NIJ rating, it achieves the level of Level 3+.  What this means is that in addition to performing at NIJ Level 3 standards, it also is Special Threat tested to the 5.56 round of M193 up to 3100 feet per second.  Level 3 steels to not protect against that velocity.  Defeats all lower threats and special threat tested for M193.

 

 

You can ask yourself well how do I know if these plates will really hold up under fire? Well some crazy vets from the NITC Training Center(think 12^th Mountain Division and Army Ranger types…not desk jockeys and cooks) out of Idaho have put these though paces, they put over 250 rounds onto a single plate consecutively from 9mm FMJ all the way through 3 rounds with a 50 cal. It was only the last three rounds from the 50 cal. That were able to penetrate! But judge for your-self how they held up here’s the video.

 

 

I also have the trauma pads inserted as well. This is actually a very light set up for the amount of protection and with curved plates that contour your body lines it makes them noticeably thinner than traditional plates. This comes in handy when you have to kneel down or fit through confined spaces while giving care to your patient. It stays more out of the way. I have my carrier in navy blue with highly reflective white EMS, the Star of Life patches on both the front and back. I have not ever been shot at in the line of duty working with the ambulance. (It has only happened once while I was working as a fire-line EMT on the wildland fires last year.) I hope I will never have need of this equipment in the future, but I can’t count on that.

 

You can get into the exact same setup I personally use from CATI Armor for about $385 with everything; plates, trauma pads, carrier, ems patches. Shipping will be extra. But I can guarantee that it will be immensely less expensive than the ambulance ride, ER, surgery and recovery that if you are lucky enough to survive you will have to pay for! You can make a very, very bad day a little better with the addition of this gear.

 

 

There’s also one other big reason that I can think of to support CATI Armor, they have so far unpublicized program where they are donating full sets of armor to rural local law enforcement agencies that are in need of and cannot afford to outfit their LEO’s with this life saving equipment. I personally know officers from two different states that now have their back covered thanks to the generous donations from CATI Armor!

 

Check out CATI armor at www.catiarmor.com tell them Spyder sent you.

 

If you are a manufacturer of equipment or supplies for the 1^st responder community and would like to have your gear reviewed please email me at spydersthompson@gmail.com to set it up.

 

I’ll have another review for you next week.

 

Spyder Thompson

 

The post 1st Gear First Responder gear review –CATI Body Armor EMS Package AR600 with the multi-curve CQB lvl 3+ plates appeared first on Oath Keepers.

The Code 3, Beginning My Journey as a 1st Responder

by Spyder Thompson

There is an unsung warrior class right here amongst us. They answer the call of duty at the worst possible times, traveling to the worst possible places, quite often during the worst weather that mother nature can muster. They are the ones that run towards the columns of smoke and disaster, are ushered through road blocks to go do battle with the dragons of accidents, attacks, and natural disasters. All “so that others may live,” and while these warriors do wear uniforms, they are not multi-cam. There are no holidays dinners, birthday parties of loved ones, or Christmas mornings that are off duty. Many of them are not paid for their service, yet they put their lives on the line every time they are called out.

They are the men and women of the EMS (Emergency Medical Services,) SAR (Search and Rescue,) Firefighters (both structural and wild-land,) and Police. They are America’s first responder communities.

I, at one time, came from the mindset that all government employees were to be looked at with suspicion and mistrust. That was before I joined the ranks of the 1^st responders. But now, I have knowledge from direct experience, and it has dramatically changed my view of the men and women who serve these agencies. That’s not to say that there are not bad people who are members of these communities, it just means that we must look at the greater picture and recognize them as the bad apples that they are. That, and we must be diligent in calling out the bad apples and hold them to account for their actions.

My journey started a couple of years back when I was working as a writer for a political website. In my work, I had come across Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers, after he had just launched his CPT (Community Preparedness Teams) initiative. This, I thought, was a great idea. I joined my local CPT and began training regularly with them.   The Oath Keepers national call to action and official guidance on CPT urges them to join their local first responder community and integrate with it.  This, I think, is crucial and there are CPT teams across the country that do this very well and those where it really needs to be focused on.

The original purpose and intent of the CPT program is to prepare the community, not just the teams. This is the driving concept that each CPT team across the country needs to keep in the forefront of their training and activities. If they (the CPT team) do not keep this as part of the mission it can cause problems at the local level. If there has been not enough, or no contact with the existing first responder teams before an event happens it can, for all intense purposes, cause the 1st responder community to look at CPT with suspicion and possibly worse – believe the erroneous message of the main stream media that CPT and the Oath Keepers are “anti-government.” If this were the case, then when a large-scale incident were to happen, there would not be the trust and rapport needed to call on them for assistance. How could we fix this problem? By taking our existing skill sets and eagerness to learn and join the existing first responder communities.

Living in the mountains of the west, I thought that joining my local Search and Rescue team might be a good start. It would further the skills I already had in land navigation, communications, wilderness survival, and medical care, all while helping me to get into better shape, which at the time I was in desperate need of. The process was pretty straight forward, I found their website and submitted an online application. Within a month, I was contacted by the team’s president and an interview was set up for after the next monthly meeting of the membership. During the interview, they asked about my past experience and what my motivation was for wanting to join the team. Really, for me, my main motivation was to give back to my local community in a tangible way. I remember thinking that if one of my three daughters was cold, hurt, alone, and lost in the wilderness, what kind of person would I want to be out there searching for her and in the end the answer to that question was someone like me.

It was in the next month, I was made a probationary member of the team. I needed to get my CPR license updated and also needed to take and pass the SAR Tech 1 certification through NASAR (The National Association for Search and Rescue.) NASAR was founded in 1972 for the training of search and rescue, disaster relief, emergency medicine, and awareness education. NASAR is interested in search and rescue as a humanitarian mission. They also provide a national standard for training and skills. Once I accomplished these, I was able to be called out for missions.

I really cannot believe that more people are not interested in being a part of their local SAR team. During the first year of training, I was able to train with and become competent in several areas that are incredibly exciting. Rappelling, 4×4 riding, snowmobiles/snow cats, and boats are just a few of the types of experiences you will get to have. All this while building team dynamics and really getting a sense that you are really helping people on some of the worst days of their lives.

After being a member of the SAR team for about a year, I went on to join the local ambulance service. This, I really kind of fell into. I had heard from a fellow member of the CPT team that the ambulance service was having their 24-hour refresher course once a week and that it was free and open to the public. I began attending their trainings, hoping just to get some emergency medical training that would be of use in my SAR callouts. I found that I had a keen interest in Emergency Medicine and within in 2 months of training I began driving for the ambulance service. A month later I was working on attaining my own EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) license. That summer I was brought on to the service as a full member. That would be a very busy summer for me as I also applied for, and was accepted to be a wildland fire fighter (as a fire-line qualified EMT). A week after passing my NREMT (National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians,) I was living out of a tent on an isolated mountain side going through the USFS (United States Forest Service) Guard School. This is the training one must go through to become a type 2 wildland fire fighter. That summer would prove to be one of the most intense fire seasons in history and I would travel to 6 different fires.

I now have an immense feeling of pride in serving and giving back what I can to my community. I have an ever-evolving skill set that is continuously being added to and I am in the best shape of my life!


In this new series of articles “Code 3”, I will be discussing different aspects of the first responder communities and what it is like to live the life of a first responder. Additionally, I will also be putting out gear reviews, going over new tools and tech that can help in the fight “so that others may live.”

 

If you believe in the mission of Oath Keepers, to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, please make a donation to support our work.  
You can donate HERE.

 

 

 

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Grow Your Own Medicine

James Wong is a scientist and a gardener. He grows plants that he turns into medicine. Anyone can do the same.

For thousands of years. humankind has known the value of plants that have healing properties. Medicinal herbs were in every medicine chest until the last hundred years, or so, when pharmaceutical companies began synthesizing drugs from common plants and patenting their new products. Today, few people are knowledgeable in herbal medicines. James Wong, and others, seek to change that fact.

Yes, you can make many of your own medicines. It is not hard.

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Esther Emery Makes Herbal Medicines and Herbal Shampoo

Esther Emery of Fouch Family Off Grid has been making homesteading videos for several years. In the following videos she shows us how to make herbal shampoo and two different tinctures;one from feverfew and one from nettle. The third video is her telling us why she uses herbal medicines.

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PUERTO RICO PART II – MEDICAL ISSUES

By Faye Higbee – Oct 28, 2017 – Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children

Puerto Rico is struggling under a desperate need for medical help, that in some cases is not happening. We spoke with a disaster relief worker who explained some of the issues that are creating havoc…they were described to us as “humanitarian crimes.”

The fight to get medical care  

An example: a veteran and his son – who had serious medical issues – were in area that had flooding and no communication.  Relief workers were trying to find a way to help the son, and it became extremely difficult. The son was so sick he could not communicate.

“He was wasting away in front of my eyes.”

They did manage to get 2 doctors out to him, but they advised the the relief workers that there was “no way” the man would get better in that environment. Hence, evacuation was necessary.

They got an ambulance to take him to a field hospital, where they hoped he could get assistance to allow him intake on the USNS Comfort. (Patients must have the approval of a hospital and proper paperwork to board the hospital ship). Aid workers were able to finally get him that approval.

By then the man had spent several hours in an ambulance. Officials directed him to a MASH unit that was only open from 9 a.m.- 9 p.m. – by the time he got there they were closed.

Members of the military volunteered to watch him overnight.  When morning came, the process did not work as originally communicated, and the intake to the USNS Comfort was cancelled.

Amateur civilian ham radio operators had created a network of communication between hospitals for about 3 weeks. By this time, they had left, which made a difficult situation even worse.

Relief workers have involved a variety of  federal agencies, NGOs,and legislators to work on this case. Disaster relief flights are difficult to obtain, in part because they are expensive. His situation is not totally resolved as of this writing. The man has been to no less than 5 hospitals, only the last of which has made a solid effort to help him – they are thoroughly overwhelmed. But he still needs to be taken to a hospital on the mainland, which is something the relief workers are attempting to handle at this time.

The pressure on relief workers

Many of the relief workers receive calls incessantly from people stranded in the mountains, children who are acutely ill, water purification issues, the need for gas to power generators, veterans that need supplies, even the need for more body bags at the morgue [Note: we have information that the death toll from various issues from landslides to Leptospirosis is far higher than is being reported], and many other critical situations too numerous to count. Then there are the accusations that FEMA is stockpiling food and water and not releasing it.

It never ends. Relief workers are exhausted both emotionally and physically. In Part III some revelations about the reasons Puerto Rico is still in the throes of desperation.

 Follow

David Begnaud 

✔@DavidBegnaud

#UnitedforPuertoRico raises 12.5M dollars, & questions about the organizations effectiveness

More with Governor: https://www.facebook.com/108679513654/videos/10155266589328655/ …

6:57 PM – Oct 24, 2017

 Follow

David Begnaud 

✔@DavidBegnaud

As of tonight, the U.S. Naval Ship “Comfort” has:

*31 registered patients onboard *85% of the beds are empty

*169 beds are available

5:00 PM – Oct 24, 2017

 Follow

David Begnaud 

✔@DavidBegnaud

Medical examiner in Puerto Rico has authorized 911 cremations

of “natural deaths” since Hurricane Maria https://www.buzzfeed.com/nidhiprakash/puerto-rico-cremations …

10:44 AM – Oct 27, 2017

 Follow

David Begnaud 

✔@DavidBegnaud

Puerto Rico death toll: 51

3 of the 51 died from Leptospirosis

76 other cases of Lepto are suspected (most are alive & being treated)

10:57 AM – Oct 26, 2017

 Follow

David Begnaud 

✔@DavidBegnaud

Puerto Death toll now 51

2 most recent deaths are from Leptospirosis, there 74 other “suspected” cases which need @CDCgov confirmation

9:45 AM – Oct 24, 2017

 Follow

David Begnaud 

✔@DavidBegnaud

“OFF THE GRID NOW!!” was the text message I just received from an engineer standing in front of the generators https://twitter.com/davidbegnaud/status/922301158667960320 …

8:25 PM – Oct 22, 2017

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David Begnaud 

✔@DavidBegnaud

Two Navy ships used for helicopter support are leaving Puerto Rico: USS WASP & USS OAK HILL; “assets no longer needed” says @USNavy

7:20 AM – Oct 26, 2017

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David Begnaud 

✔@DavidBegnaud

Maria disrupted production at Puerto Rican factories making drugs; hospitals are seeing shortages @DrLaPook reports https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/hurricane-maria-disrupted-production-of-medical-supplies/ …

8:23 PM – Oct 25, 2017

Hurricane Maria disrupted production of medical supplies

Hurricane Maria disrupted production at Puerto Rican factories that make critical drugs and medical supplies. Dr. Jon LaPook found that hospitals on the U.S. mainland are already seeing shortages.

cbsnews.com

 Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children

This is the second in a series of articles by Faye Higbee on the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

 

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PUERTO RICO IS STILL STRUGGLING

By Faye Higbee – Oct. 26, 2017 – Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children

The humanitarian crisis continues in Puerto Rico- is there something nefarious standing in the way of actual help? Shipments of aid have been blocked from reaching the west side of the island, and inexpensive flights into Puerto Rico have been difficult to find. There are literally tons of supplies sitting in hangars, being dumped in “bins” or dumpsters, and flights being blocked from going to the west side of the island where Hurricane Maria did the most damage.

FEMA “Co-opting” privately gathered supplies

We spoke to Bill Simmons from Oath Keepers, who told us that their donated supplies were sitting in an airplane hangar and not being disseminated- even re-packaged and re-labeled by FEMA. Thousands upon thousands of medical supplies that were donated by Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia are still sitting in a warehouse because they can’t get a flight. Likewise there are tons of supplies waiting in Florida as well. And that’s not counting the ones waiting in Puerto Rico for dissemination.

Bill told us that they had to have people on the ground with the supplies or they would be gone, taken by FEMA. That sentiment was also expressed by at least two other disaster relief workers.

Preparing to head out to areas that need supplies

Speaking with Hospital staff on medical needs

Giving out specially prepared care packages to locals

 

FEMA

In the event that people just don’t know the “rules,” we reached out to FEMA and asked what the rules are for packaging donations, how they disseminate donations, etc.  We were re-directed to their press person’s email the first time. The response we received a few days later was this:

 

You can make up your own minds about that response.

Mishandling of supplies by unknown person(s)

In the video below, perfectly good food and supplies were found in a garbage dump truck, and exposed to rats and rain in Patilla, Puerto Rico. Spoiled food. And that’s just the tip of this extremely huge iceberg. Who did this? Currently, that’s a mystery.

“We got tipped about the mishandling of some of the supplies in a distribution center in Patilla, and we were able to corroborate what we didn’t want to see. In a garbage dump truck we found pallets full of meals ready to be distributed at one time but now all spoiled. They were left under the rain in the open air under the sun subject to rodents and animals.” Luis Rivera Marin, Puerto Rico Secretary of State.

“It was a negligent and for me criminal” insists Puerto Rico’s @LuisRiveraMarin who says he found hurricane donations exposed to rain & rats pic.twitter.com/YElRFv2KXN

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) October 17, 2017

One of the disaster relief workers told us that the US Military has been helping and even preventing some of the supplies from being taken by what the people believed were FEMA workers. One airplane hangar full of pallets of water was about to be “co-opted,”  when the owner of the pallets realized that he had been re-directed to the wrong hangar. As he found the correct one, three USAF  servicemen came with him and prevented the FEMA workers from loading them up and taking them to an undisclosed location.

We will continue to follow this situation in Part II, as well as numerous reports of blocking supplies from getting to the needed areas. Absolutely, there are people being helped daily on the island by groups on the ground.  There simply appears to be some giant sized holes in the process.

From: Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children

 

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Volunteers are tired. Where’s our government in Puerto Rico?

By Dr. Jennifer McQuade, for the Houston Chronicle | on October 25, 2017

Four days after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, volunteer medical relief was critically important. But 33 days after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, volunteer medical relief continues to be critically important to the island.

It should not be this way. This is not the job of volunteers or donors. This is the job of our government.

I have been intimately involved in providing medical relief for both Harvey and Maria for the past two months. When Harvey hit, I walked into the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB) and volunteered my services as a physician.

I am not a disaster medicine specialist. I am a melanoma medical oncologist at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. But the people of my city were in need. Working in conjunction with the City of Houston Emergency Medical Services (EMS), I used social media to mobilize donated medications, medical supplies and volunteer medical professionals to meet the needs of the 10,000 or more evacuees sheltered at GRB.

By the fourth day, the Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) came in to take over running the medical shelter. A Kroger mobile pharmacy truck and representatives from Walgreens and CVS set up as well.

This was as it should be, though at the time our naïve question was, “Why did it take so long?”

As Houston clinics and hospitals reopened, we turned our resources toward East Texas and Louisiana. This experience led me to create a group (Medical Disaster Resource Network) to match medical needs and resources in disaster areas. I never expected this network to be put to use so quickly.

After Maria hit, getting relief to Puerto Rico was more difficult than expected. It took us five days to establish a safe place to land and a trusted network to receive and distribute aid.

But our expanded grassroots medical relief network has now sent about 30 planes and 100,000 pounds worth of aid, including eight planes from Houston that I have been personally involved in.

Still, I ask: Why was a 50,000-pound donation from the City of Houston, sent on Oct. 5, the largest relief shipment Puerto Rico had received to date?

Thirty-one days after the Maria, why was the largest public hospital in San Juan losing power and requiring surgeons to operate by flashlight?

 

Photo: Ricardo Arduengo / AFP / Getty Images – A man rides his bicycle through a damaged road in Toa Alta, west of San Juan.

Why do I get verified messages about an orphanage running out of food and water and a mountain municipality that has yet to receive any aid?

Why does a physician drive 100 miles to San Juan every night for three days to get a cellular signal to talk to me to coordinate receiving medical supplies?

When the plane arrives and these critically needed medications are loaded into his van, he calls me crying, “Thank you — on behalf of the people of Puerto Rico — thank you.”

Why am I now working on my ninth plane of medical supplies for the island 33 days after the hurricane hit?

To be honest, I’m tired. We are all tired. This is not the job of volunteers or donors. These are American citizens who are suffering. This is the job of our government.

Most of San Juan has had power and water restored. Most of the rest of the island has not. We will continue to send medical relief for as long as is needed, but what is needed so that relief will no longer be needed is for critical infrastructure to be restored.

 

Dr. Jennifer McQuade is a physician-scientist with UT MD Anderson Cancer Center and founder of Medical Disaster Response Network.

Houston Chronicle

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Critical food and medical supplies for Puerto Ricans tied up by FEMA?

Mike Kerr of Hear the Watchmen interviews Billy Simmons, Oath Keepers Board Member. They discuss the difficulties in getting donated disaster relief supplies to the volunteers who are ready and willing to deliver those supplies to Puerto Rican families in need.

Oath Keepers, including Founder Stewart Rhodes, have been on the ground in Puerto Rico since Oct. 2, to assist in the disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Maria. There are supplies, including food, medical, diapers, etc. in warehouses. There are many hungry Puerto Ricans, especially in remote areas, who are in desperate need. We have been ready to deliver food to them since we arrived. Oath Keepers Board Member Billy Simmons explains the difficulties involved in actually getting food to take to the hungry.

To volunteer: puertorico@oathkeepers.org

If you can, or know someone who can, donate cargo space on a plane for food/medical supplies, etc. direct to Aguadilla: puertorico@oathkeepers.org

Please donate to help us continue our disaster relief mission in Puerto Rico:   DONATE

Oath Keepers need your help in Puerto Rico!

OATH KEEPERS:
ORDERS WE WILL NOT OBEY

Click here to read full length version.

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.


2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people
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3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.


4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.


5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.


6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.


7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.


8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control."


9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.


10. We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Click here to read full length version.

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Oath Keepers and friends deliver food, water, and wellness checks

By Cara Coggeshall

My day today: We went to Espinal, Aguada, Puerto Rico. We brought food and water, a Medic and we were able to  assess the community’s needs. We also had a part in transporting a 9 year old boy and his mom to the hospital because he had a rash for 2 weeks. The living conditions were dirty with goats, pigs, fowl, dogs and cats.

It was a blessing to be part of this, however I can only continue to help with the support of my friends and family in the USA, so please support the mission! Thank you & God bless you all for your help!

Photo credit: Cara Coggeshall Freelance Photography

Go here to help us continue our humanitarian efforts: 
https://www.gofundme.com/emergency-medical-evacuation

Or here: https://www.oathkeepers.org/product/donate/

If you would prefer to write a check, this is our mailing address: Oath Keepers, 5130 S. Fort Apache Rd. Ste. 215, Las Vegas, NV 89148

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UPDATE: Stewart Rhodes on Disaster Relief in Puerto Rico

Stewart Rhodes with an update from Puerto Rico: Tomorrow, we will be helping local patriots Christopher Silva and his cousin Jean Badillo distribute four pallets of food to hard-hit barrios in Aguada, Puerto Rico. We will also take food and water to the orphanage in Moca, Puerto Rico. This is food that was donated by numerous people and groups, and collected by our friend Jeremiah. These are all poor barrios which have yet to receive any official aid. While at it, our medical personnel will do medical wellness checks in these barrios, which also have not had any direct medical support.

CRITICAL: We have a commitment from local air assets here in Aguadilla to help us distribute food, water, medicine, etc to remote mountain regions, including using their helicopters to do food drops into areas that cannot be reached by road due to mudslides and flooding. This means that isolated villages and barrios will finally get the food, water, and medical supplies they need.

BUT we need to provide them with the food to deliver. They have the helicopters, but no food. It is up to us to get the food.

We need food sent to the Aguadilla airport, or otherwise brought into the Auguadilla area, coordinated with us so we make sure it is not confiscated or stolen, and we will take it from there. At the moment, the above mentioned four pallets of food that Jeremiah secured is the first and only substantial amount of food we have seen here in private hands (aside from the ten cases of MREs the National Guard gave us). We find this both baffling and frustrating to the point of infuriating.

Why is it that mountains of food, water, and other supplies are sitting in San Juan, held captive by FEMA, or piled in warehouses back in Miami (we saw them with our own eyes) but have yet to be shipped or flown into the NW area of Puerto Rico? This makes no sense to us. We are ready, willing, and able to deliver it all, including into the most remote regions, and yet we have NOTHING to deliver (aside from those four pallets which will be gone by end of day tomorrow).

Where are the commercial airlines? Where is FEDEX, UPS, etc. Why can’t they use their planes to bring in the food that is needed, into Aguadilla? The Aguadilla airport can handle nearly any plane made, including C-130s, C-141s, C-17s, C-5s etc. And we know for a fact that there are millions of tons of privately donated food and bottled water sitting in Miami, yet to be put on a plane or ship.

Again, we don’t fault the military. The men and women of the Army Reserves, National Guard, Active Duty Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, etc are more than willing to get it done, but they are not allowed to touch the tons of food FEMA controls without permission from FEMA, which is slow to come. And that is where we come in. We will find a way to get the food that has been donated by countless individuals and churches into the hands of the people who need it.

We just need the help of those who have access to planes. If that is you, email us at: puertorico@oathkeepers.org or show up at the Aguadilla Good Samaritan Hospital, where our men are posting guard 24/7 (just ask for Oath Keepers) and we will get that food into the hands of the families who need it most.

On a more positive note, we are working very hard to provide temporary air conditioning to the Aguadilla Good Samaritan Hospital to fix the deadly conditions of an ICU that is is 90-95 degrees, which is entirely unacceptable, and we working to restore the delivery of 15,000 gallons of water per day that this massive hospital needs to run. And to ensure that the generators do not fail (they were considered short term emergency backup and never expected to be needed for so long). Our engineers and journeymen tradesmen are doing all they can to help ensure the water supply to the community as well as the hospital.

We need medics, EMTs, nurses, etc to go with us out into the rural areas and do wellness checks. We are linking up with some who are already here, to go with them as they do their work, but we also want our own Oath Keepers medical personnel to continue to come in. We had an awesome trauma nurse, Scott Dunn, who has been with us, but he has to go home tomorrow. That leaves us with one current serving EMT on the ground. We need more. We also still need men who can stand guard and provide security escorts to convoys, medical teams, etc, and the engineers and tradesmen who can handle infrastructure repair and removal of obstacles in roads. We need you.

See our latest call to action here: 
https://www.oathkeepers.org/urgent-volunteers-engineering-…/

Come help show by your example what it means to keep your oath.

If you can’t make it in person, please support those who can, who are now standing up, and getting it done on a shoestring budget.

Go here to help: 
https://www.gofundme.com/emergency-medical-evacuation

Or here: https://www.oathkeepers.org/product/donate/

If you would prefer to write a check, this is our mailing address: Oath Keepers, 5130 S. Fort Apache Rd. Ste. 215, Las Vegas, NV 89148

Thank you for your support and God bless,

Oath Keepers on the ground in Puerto Rico

Discussing the current condition of Good Samaritan Hospital in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

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Help us get water filtration to rural areas of Puerto Rico

Help us get clean water to Puerto Rico, where trucks and planes can’t go, but brave Veterans can. Help us prevent the spread of waterborne disease like dysentery, leptospirosis, conjunctivitis and others that have already been confirmed.

We are working to get the air transport, but we need YOUR help in purchasing these units.  A single tank delivers 250 gallons per hour and requires no power to run. Help us reach our goal of $84,000 to provide an entire set of TWELVE of these units to people who are in desperate need. (Details on the water filtration system below.)

Our boots are on the ground to make this happen for people that STILL have no clean drinking water in Puerto Rico. We just need the units funded and need your help in making it a reality! 

Please visit gofundme.com/emergency-medical-evacuation to contribute.

 Please visit gofundme.com/emergency-medical-evacuation to contribute.

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