Marc Stanley, 2d. Lt., Public Affairs Officer
Responding to a request for assistance by the Kentucky Emergency Management Agency, members of the Squadron deployed between February 2/1 and 2/7. Over 20 counties with hundreds of thousands of residents had been affected by a severe winter storm that deposited inches of ice, and brought electrical utilities and other critical infrastructure in the western part of the state to a standstill.
The Squadron responded with aircraft, aircrews, ground team members and mission base personnel almost immediately. Aircrews performed aerial reconnaissance locating downed power lines, transmission towers, blocked roads, as well as other property damage. Ground personnel performed door to door wellness checks in residential areas along with units of the Kentucky National Guard and local fire departments. Mission staff personnel established a forward operating base, and set up the infrastructure to support a large scale air operation. Along with FEMA, assets from Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky and Illinois operated under a joint command with headquarters at Frankfort, KY. The Squadron, operating at a forward location adjacent to Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, KY, represented a significant proportion of the total number of Illinois responders.
1st Lt. Damon Card completed his Mission Observer rating by participating in a Highbird flight that also relayed signals for the KY National Guard.
1st Lt. Scott McKnight served as Acting Air Branch Director for operations out of Paducah. It was his responsibility to assign air missions as well as both brief and debrief flight crews. He is now a fully qualified Air Branch Director. In addition, he somehow also found the time to earn Mission Staff Assistant and Mission Radio Operator ratings during his deployment.
