Department of Defense

Just home from Iraq, air traffic controllers answer call from state

National Guard Bureau -Story by Master Sgt. Christopher Schepers – Friday, June 8, 2018

When the Kilauea volcano erupted on Hawaii’s Big Island, members of the 297th Air Traffic Control Squadron, Hawaii Air National Guard, were just getting home from a seven-month deployment that sent them to Al Asad Airbase, Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

On the day before he was supposed to return to work Air National Guard Maj. Irving Bicoy, 297th Air Traffic Control Squadron commander, received a call that he was to put a team of air traffic controllers together for a deployment to Hilo, Hawaii to support Operation Ho’opalekana. In less than 24 hours, Bicoy was able to gather a team of five people to deploy to Hawaii’s Big Island to support the mission.

“Most of us have been away from our families for seven months,” said Bicoy. “It was the first day back to work for me and most of the technicians after our reconstitution time and that was the day that we were activated.”

The team deployed to Hilo to support Hawaii County Civil Defense, specifically the Hawaii County Fire Department in the management of aircraft entering and exiting the area under a temporary flight restriction.

“We are providing a temporary flight restriction service,” explained Bicoy. “We are monitoring the entry and exit of aircraft into and out of the TFR and providing deconfliction to all aircraft operating in the temporary flight restriction area.”

Staff Sgt. Skyler Ross, air traffic control specialist assigned to the 297th Air Traffic Control Squadron explained that they are also assisting the fire department in making the operation a sustainable one until their services are no longer needed.

“The fire department had a very good reaction to the emergency, but they didn’t have the sustainability plan set up”, explained Ross. “We have a very good sustainability plan doing this on a daily basis and always consistently reacting.”

Working in such a dynamic environment with so many moving parts safety is always a priority for everyone involved. Bicoy’s team had to ensure that there was a common practice between all involved parties when they hit the ground.

“The biggest thing is that we developed safe procedures, when we hit the ground running there were no procedures in place so we were able to get a memorandum of understanding between the Hawaii Civil Defense and the users of the TFR,(temporary flight restriction)” said Bicoy. “By getting everyone on the same page and developing common procedures and getting out to the community we were able to make a safer operation.”

While always keeping safety in mind the task force also realizes that there is a need to be flexible to many factors and adapt to an ever changing environment in Hawaii County.

“We redefined the TFR because when we first came here it was just a five-mile circle that focused on the Leilani Estates area, it didn’t encompass the entire area of responsibility,” explained Bicoy. “As the area of responsibility changed, we developed a new TFR that’s more of a polygon shape that encompasses areas that are critical to air commerce.”

“We want to work with the community so we gathered ideas from everyone that was operating in the TFR to develop an air space that was more user friendly for all users,” continued Bicoy. “We shortened the distance from the shoreline which benefits two fold by allowing tour helicopters to take closer pictures and if a helicopter ever got into trouble with weather they could use the shoreline to navigate.”

The National Guard’s mission during Operation Ho’opalekana is to conduct National Guard Domestic Operations and Defense Support to Civil Authorities to save lives, prevent human suffering and allow residents to live their lives the best they can.

“I joined the Hawaii Air National Guard to stay in Hawaii and to protect the land and no matter what the emergency is we are glad to do anything to help,” said Ross. “Being a local boy, everywhere we go whether we’re in uniform or not people recognize that we’re local and we’re here to help and that we’re here to do whatever we can.

– 2018 Summer Pupukahi pp. 3-4

Hawaii National Guard hard at work on micro-shelter project

Engineers of the Hawaii Army National Guard have been hard at work since June 7 constructing a community of emergency “micro-shelter” housing units in Pahoa, Hawaii for residents displaced by the on-going Kilauea eruption.

Sometimes working in pouring rain and mud, the soldiers are part of a community effort led by Hope Services Hawaii, a faith-based non-profit organization. The land on which the new community is being built was provided by Sacred Heart Church.

The initial phase of the project will make 20 housing units available to families, many of whom are currently living in evacuation shelters, cars, and tents. In addition to providing the new residents with shelter, the new community will give the families much-needed privacy while simultaneously helping to alleviate demands on evacuation shelters. First priority will go to senior citizens and families with children.

“It’s important to help the people effected by the lava flow, to help the kids at the shelters, the elderly people,” said Capt. Matthew Driggers, commander of the 230^th Engineer Company, which provided 48 soldiers to support the effort. “I take it very personal and want to help out.”

Members of the 230^th, which provided much of the skilled labor to construct the homes, have been working side by side with volunteers from local contracting companies and charitable organizations to clear and prepare the land and begin initial construction of the shelters.

Following an early-morning ceremony to bless the project on Saturday, June 9, National Guard soldiers, contractors, and other volunteers descended on the site en masse. By the end of the day, the outer structure and roofs of the micro-shelters were in place. Interior work, such as installing dry wall, will be performed in coming days.

The new community has been dubbed “Sacred Heart Shelter,” and organizers hope to have the new community ready for move-in soon.

– 2018 Summer Pupukahi pp. 5

Warrior Twice-over Assists during Lava Mission

117th MPAD – Aven Santiago

With the lava flow on the Big Island impacting the land, air quality, and peoples safety, the Hawaii National Guard was called up to support the Hawai County community. One of those service members was Army Specialist and Rainbow Warrior defensive lineman, Kelly E Padello.

“It means everything, growing up here. Seeing how beautiful this island is. And seeing the disaster that’s happened. It means a lot to give back to the people and give back to the land,” said Spec. Padello.

As a student-athlete on the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a soldier in the Hawaii Army National Guard, Padello had to put down his football cleats and pick up his combat boots. He got the phone call to serve his state. But first had to make a phone call to head coach Nick Rolovich and tell him he was headed to the big island.

“KK has always communicated very well about his responsibilities,” said Coach Rolovich. “Balancing them with UH, school, football and the National Guard, and then he called me a few weeks ago and said, ‘hey I’m gonna probably miss some of training camp… Because I gotta stay over here and help.’ That’s gonna come first for KK.”

Padello was part of the security and rover team supporting Hawaii county. The Soldiers and Airmen on those teams, work with the Hawaii Police Department to patrol the community and stop looting and other illegal activities. They also helped observe security checkpoints, and monitor air quality levels around areas impacted by lava.

“It’s very sad to see that people that’s been affected by it, but that’s why I signed up,” said SPC Padello. “That’s why I wear this uniform. To serve and protect the people of the state of Hawaii and the United States of America.

“I have tremendous respect for him, and everyone that puts on that uniform,” said Coach Rolovich. “He’s a guy who’s not the biggest guy. Not the fastest guy. But it’s hard for you to pick somebody else out of that 105 that works harder than him.”

Playing football, you can rack up stats and earn trophies. In the military, you can earn certificates and ribbons. But for Padello, helping the community and people of Hawaii, is it’s own reward.

“To be able to know that you helped out these people,” Said Padello. “It’s not about the awards that you’ll get or the ribbons. It’s just. being able to say that; You signed up for this, you did your job

– 2018 Summer Pupukahi pp. 5

Hawaii National Guard assists volcanic eruption response

State of Hawaii Department of Defense – Tech. Sgt. Andrew Jackson

As a Hawaii island community was inundated with the lava erupting from the Kilauea volcano, the Hawaii National Guard was activated. Calling Soldiers and Airmen to perform the state mission to ensure their residents of Hawaii County are safe and that their property remains secure.

“Task Force Hawaii has been established by the Hawaii National Guard. It’s composed of Airmen and Soldiers from the Army and the Air National Guard. The mission for Task Force Hawaii is mission command of command and control the organizational assets and resources that are on the Big Island, in response to assistance as requested by the County of Hawaii,” stated LT. Col. Shawn Tsuha – Commander Task Force Hawaii “So what we’ve done is we’ve established several teams that are working with the first responders on The Big Island. One team is the aviation element. They’re working with the Hawaii Fire Department and their aviation element to provide that support as needed. We have two teams on the ground that’s composed of our security team that go out to the neighborhoods in response to request from Hawaii County Police Department in regards to presence patrols, and then we have traffic control points and check points to control the flow in and out of the affected area.”

The security teams provided 24-hour support of communities at specific checkpoints.

“We have about five posts set up,” said Pfc. Mariel Calivoso, security team member. “If people are allowed in, we let them know what the status is on the inside.”

Command and control is provided at a joint emergency operation center at Keakakha Military Reservation in Hilo where the ever evolving conditions on the ground changed as new volcanic fissures opened each day. “When it first developed, the Hawaii National Guard, stood up a very small initial response, but over time the incident has grown in scope and in danger in regards to the lava and where the lava is, especially in the Leilani Estates, and then the East Rift Zone,” said Tsuha. “So we’ve had to increase the amount of personnel on the ground and the amount of resources that we have to apply in order to assist the county in their efforts to help the community respond to whatever Pele does and then also hasten the recovery of the community when all of this is done”

A public affairs team was also dispatched to assist Hawaii County authorities with on-site lava coverage and also coordinating media inquiries from international, national and local media outlets.

National Guard Civil Support Teams from Hawaii’s 93rd CST and Arizona’s 91st CST provided around the clock monitoring of sulfur dioxide levels that protected both first responders and residents of Puna.

– 2018 Summer Pupukahi pp. 6

Company C, 1st Battalion, 183rd Aviation Regiment. . . Providing flyover opportunities for officials to survey the lava eruptions that broke out on Hawai‘i Island. The eruptions spanned into two fiscal years.

– 2019 Annual Report pp. 12

Members of the HIANG responded to post Hurricane Lane activities at the Task Force Hawai‘i Joint Operations Center in Keaukaha Military Reserve. Airmen performed safety and relief work amid volcanic threats and destruction on the east side of Hawai‘i Island. They also assisted Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency with jobs that included monitoring dangerous gas emissions from lava flows, manning security checkpoints, building emergency housing, and conducting search-and-rescue missions. The volcanic threat from Fissure 8 spanned into two fiscal years, lasting for a total of four months

– 2019 Annual Report pp. 21