Indiana @ MindSay 
jones
the weekend consisted of largely cmbaa events, centering mostly around the game, against never-before-have-we-played indiana (which a lot of my latiny friends attend or attended (including meeting one when i convention was held there, with whom i/we kind of had a thing going for each other but then quickly died out after convention ended)). MA's roommate also went there for undergrad, and is now at uva for grad, so that made it amusing for an "it's a small world after all"-type connection. since kato actively refused to be associated with them in any way (even as my guest and a former member), he didn't come to any with me, including the game (since i'd be sitting with them), which was disappointing. so friday, i managed to make it to baja bean's upstairs about an hour after the start time, wandering around a bit before sitting with mcclelland, tanya, and a friend of theirs. as more people starting coming in, they eventually got up to play darts at the unoccupied board, and i moved to sit with sarah (current dm), veronica, and a few others, including an alumni from the 60s, tryon, whose name it took several tries for us to get right. teri (guard) joined us, as well as rachel (tenor sax, uts). sarah of course, was sitting next to this guy i'd spotted earlier, playing pool with our old drumline captain, chris. turns out he was the guest vocalist for the halftime show (featuring three disney medleys), ivan rutherford—who happened to have actually been roommates with pease back in college, and went on to star as valjean in over 1800 performances of les mis on broadway, among other notable roles, along with guest starring in the holiday concert last year.
as the crowd of band people kept growing, he bought a round of coronas for the girls, and the conversation went from meeting the clintons while in his dressing room at a show (while bill was still president), to a stint in japan (including trying to help a piss-drunk clubgoer laying out on the street)—one of the first big things he did as a performer, to a little old lady remarking how he reminded her of a celebrity while he was at lunch the previous day with pease and koch (amusingly (and to his chagrin—he was expecting someone like brad pitt), she said "robin williams," which i'd find even more amusing the next day, because one of the show selections was "friend like me," from aladdin..sung by genie, i.e. robin williams). he was a really easygoing guy, and every one of his stories was as intriguing as the last..and perhaps best of all, no different-looking than you or i, and rather humble about it all..though his stature (maybe 5'8ish?) probably didn't help that much, lol. things finally started wrapping up, as we headed downstairs.
thought about leaving, but wound up sitting with idz, dk, hondula, and his g/f whom i'd ran into earlier, when she came with a non bandie. had a good talk about randomness, before kato called as midnight drew near, wondering where i was. headed back soon after that, ending the night quietly, i think. long saturday ahead of me, as it were..
woke up early for the cmbaa meeting at 9AM, with bodos and oj, over at this room on the bottom floor of ruffner (ed school), which i'd actually never been inside, all these years. went through a lot of things, showing the new rehearsal hall floor plans and rendering on culbreth, electing officers..got snubbed again for treasurer, as familiarity with someone who's been doing the job takes precedence over qualifications. headed over to practice with erik, rick, breanna, and lauren? watched for a bit before walking back to kato's because i forgot my ticket, then grabbing the usual mcdoubles before having him drop me off at mcclelland/rachel's house. it's at events like these that i remember the dominance kkpsi has in so many aspects of the band, from leadership positions to our own alumni association, and it's irritating because they have their own alumni association that they can build independently of the cmb one, and yet the entire exec board and members at large are now run by them. what's even more frustrating is that by the time i could finally rush/pledge, i decided it wasn't worth the effort, and that making sure i didn't get a third academic probation (meaning suspension) during my fourth semester (spring of second year) was more important, or otherwise i more than likely could've been in just as easily as anyone else, especially with the people who were in it at the time.
anyhow, so a good number of people were there; ben (from my hs) brought his gf from johns hopkins, and we watched some other game that'd already started. tj, kyle, and others was there as well, along with various others as i dug into some classic american food (cheeseburgers and potato salad), and tried some new sierra mist. several people splintered off in groups to attend other tailgates and/or get to the game earlier, while the residents and a few others stayed to clean up. i wound up leaving with chris (former dm), as we tried to track down q, who had lance's ticket, and wound up intercepting (yay football term) him and his gf on the way to the stadium. they didn't even bother checking me for anything, and we took our seats in the rows a few up from the very front. colin and hayley spotted the lot of us and joined two rows in front of me, while i had an entire row to myself saved with jackets for other people, directly behind jimmy and erik. some random girl who'd gotten there earlier was to his right, on the end, which became amusing as the game went on.
things got off to a good start though at 3:30PM, with us taking an early lead, and dominating on both sides of the ball. band had an amazing halftime performance with ivan, and it was a huge hit with the crowd.
eventually indiana finally got its lone td and pat in the fourth, thought it was perfectly preventable. a solid win (especially after the previous week's low-scoring showing at unc), as i stuck around afterward to sing the good old song down on the field. heading up the stands, i called kato, who tells me he's at this bus driver friend of his's apartment over on wertland, and for me to meet him over there—i suggest dinner and a movie. as i'm still on the phone, leaving the stadium, i turn around to see all the alumni getting their picture taken on the field. unable to decide whether to try to run down and join them, i eventually head back that way, running into taylor's parents up top, waiting for her, and strike up conversation with them as we leave with her and tiago, headed for o'hill. pass caitlin near the truck and say hello with a smile, and stick around for a while longer before they go, chat with diane a bit about plans for the night, and head off to u-forum to retrieve my car.
i manage to find a random empty spot outside the apartment, and head on up. jillian opens the door, greeting me: "we didn't order any chinese food.." which i sarcastically laugh off. we play guitar hero a bit (solo, since she'd messed up the world tour situation with a newer controller), and i meet casey (whose room is on jillian's side of the apartment), who sits down with us as she has a yocrunch since she's just gotten back from the game also. she eventually heads back to her room as we attempt to decide where to eat, but come up empty. as jillian goes into her closet to change, i look around her room a bit and hang around in the hallway, eventually attempting to convince casey to come with us. seems she'd stayed out until 7AM the previous night, and'd gotten limited sleep before the game, but reluctantly agrees to go on one condition: that she gets to chose the place we're eating—qdoba. as we head out to drive over to the corner somewhere, we see a parent attempting to get his car un-towed, so we decide to take my car instead, snugly slipping into an empty spot in front of the white spot.
qdoba's surprisingly empty except for a group that can be heard in the back. we go through the line getting our food, casey knowing what she wanted and going first, with me behind her (since kato and jillian are sort of paired off in conversation). the two of us get our food and water, and sitting at some tables up near the front. the group of us seem to hit it off immediately though, as casey bounces back and forth just like me and kato, talking about her late night, the musical perfection of jay sean's down and keri hilson's knock you down, and her previous two-year stint on the dance team, among other things. i was pretty surprised, since she seemed rather reluctant to come out initially, but without any prompting actually said that she was glad she decided to come. an hour and a half later (by now trying to finish my burrito has given way to nonstop conversation), we finally head out, dropping casey back off over on wertland, and agreeing to facebook each other, since she's somehow the only casey brown at uva.
when we finally get back to kato's place, he tells me we basically don't have any more time to watch a movie, to which i protest but begrudgingly agree. we get changed and head over to t and duck's (those are nicknames) with wes and jillian, and eventually down to x-lounge and/or rapture. this time however, i don't really wind up dancing with anyone other than occasionally sandwiching jillian between me and kato. as x-lounge closes up, this girl who's crying and been left by her friends somehow winds up stuck with us, as we try to decide whether to go somewhere, or just go back to t and duck's to keep the night going. jillian kind of goes from person to person to try to stay warm as i deflect her; most of us have worn long-sleeved dress shirts, though the cold cuts through even them. this girl is lisps through tears on the phone with her ex, trying to track down her friends, as we strongly debate calling a cab. kato and i sit down on the curb, taking a bit about jillian's behavior, and wes finally calls for a van cab. two arrive and as we attempt to get into one and wave the other off, he denies us trying to fit seven people in, so me, kato, and wes stay behind and we're left cabless again. wes calls a cab friend of his and we go (off the clock) back to t and duck's, where we hang out for a while longer before eventually having wes drop us (me+k+jillian) off, back at kato's.
sunday's a typical sunday, mass and all, with a movie before briefly stopping through fredericksburg on the way back to falls church.
The Celluloid Fetish of Whiteness
Antonio Garcia
Indiana University
Entering the celluloid 3rd world
Popular culture has provided entertainment and insight into the overt and covert practices and desires of society. The cryptic celluloid captivates us and allows us to enter a third space, or world, of neither illusion nor reality but reality in the illusion (Žižek, The Perverts Guide to Cinema). As we become trapped in the illusion of a celebrated “unreality” in the form of cinematic indulgence we are confronted with a delight in the pleasure of our own disavowing fetishes. Movies like Crash (2005) resonate deeply and stir emotions while providing the needed, but easily forgettable, shock of the racial tensions that exists across all racial divides. After becoming emotionally enchanted by the films cinematography and musical score, we depart from the captivity of the celluloid world with only a brief residue of how that cinematic universe is not an illusion masking reality, but a very true reality that we have masked as an illusion in our own subconscious. One poignant example can be found in a scene from Hotel Rwanda (2005) that illustrates the disavowing fetish. The news cameraman (Joaquin Phoenix) returns with video footage of the machete butchering taking place on the streets of Kigali and replies to Raul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) who believes the footage will show the world of the terror: “people will see it say that’s horrible and then go back to their dinners.” The advent of cinematography and the celluloid have allowed for a 3rd world to become the illusion of reality while actually creating a reality out of our illusion. Within these celluloid 3rd worlds we can analyze the human, social, phenomenological, and psychological without harm to human subjects. Thus, the celluloid becomes the pop culture sociologist’s fantasy of interplay between the real and the illusory real.
In grappling with the notion of whiteness, we can return to a similar disavowing fetish among whites. Žižek (2008) provides an example of the disavowing fetish as “I know, but I don’t want to know that I know, so I don’t know…I know it, but I refuse to fully assume the consequences of this knowledge, so that I can continue acting as if I don’t know” (p.52). Whiteness operates among whites in a similar way. Whether it is acknowledged or not whites participate in a world that they know, but do not have to acknowledge it because they are provided the hegemonic luxury of assuming an ignorant state of unknowing. In short, whites know that there is racial tension, but they don’t want to know so they pretend to not know and therefore it exist as some type of fantasy or illusion rather than a reality masked as fantasy. Perhaps this is why the issue of whiteness has been so difficult to captivate. Whiteness is seen as a fantasy to those who have the choice to make it a fantasy, but for those that are non-white whiteness is far any assumed illusory fantasy. In order to significantly stake a claim as to whether whiteness is or is not we must first understand that it is something by its very proposal of existence. As a subject and object, it is a discourse and discursive practice that crosses multiple disciplines and interests. I find that there is often an autoerotic language game that takes place in the conversations on whiteness in which people are more concerned with fantasizing about the correct semantic styling rather than pursuing an engagement of activism and reconstruction of whiteness as anti-racist. What becomes problematic is how to situate whiteness so that we do not try to trap it and confine to an operational discourse but rather allow a discourse to be just as adaptable and revolutionary in being able to reconstruct itself and its beliefs, theoretical presuppositions, and assumptions in order to maintain a critical perspective of the evolutionary and elusive nature of whiteness?
Whiteness is often talked about as an invisible social phenomenon, yet the term phenomenon alludes to the idea that whiteness can be observed. I propose one step further in my own theoretical discourse in implicating whiteness as a social phenomenological enigma. By proposing whiteness as a phenomenological enigma we can capture in a broad sense its observability while contemplating its mystery. If we maintain that whiteness is not static but always in the process of transformation based on social, historical, and cultural dimensions then we can formulate our lens in accordance with such contextualization. Whiteness as a phenomenological project implies a certain measure of consistency. But again how do we measure a social construct that is oxymoronically absently present?
Though the idea of whiteness being an observable mystery makes it difficult and complicated, we must understand that making whiteness evident as a visible social construct that is not easily identified by an objective marker, i.e. skin color or physical characteristic, is just as possible as describing the wind. We cannot see the wind or the air we breathe, yet we feel and see its affect on the trees as they sway to and fro. Whiteness is a clever phenomenological enigma that has created a reality masked in illusion by the hegemonic proprietors who created it for the purpose of their own social superiority and systemic privilege.
In order to examine whiteness in context we must provide a prospective lens through which to view it or make it theoretically evident. For the purpose of this paper, I have chosen to focus on the critical pedagogy of whiteness as it penetrates the celluloid enigmatically through religious allocation in the movie Saved (2004). This concept, the critical pedagogy of whiteness, is described by Kincheloe (1999) as follows:
In the multicultural context a critical pedagogy of whiteness theoretically grounds a form of teaching that engages students in an examination of the social, political, and psychological dimensions of membership in a racial group. The critical imperative demands that such an examination be considered in relation to power and the ideological dynamics of white supremacy. A critical pedagogy of whiteness is possible only if we understand in great specificity the multiple meanings of whiteness and their effects on the way white consciousness is historically structured and socially inscribed. Without such appreciations and the meta-consciousness they ground, awareness of the privilege and dominance of white Northern European vantage points are buried in the cemetery of power evasion. Neither our understanding that race is not biological but social or that racial classifications have inflicted pain and suffering on non-Whites should move us to reject the necessity of new forms of racial analysis.
Whiteness is not a biological organism, but a socially constructed enigma. It is not the same as the racial category of “white” although the two share a historical kinship. Whiteness is the subjectively interpreted, covert, elusive, invisible, non-questioned, and pervasive phenomenological enigma. The racial category “white” is an objective visible marker; however, this racial category often goes unquestioned as a constitutive culture, being questioned as a group, or falling into tokenism due to the act of an individual. This phantasm of society that has become a significant hegemonic marker has been difficult to capture within a full operational and definitive ideal. It moves and transforms according to its social, historical, and cultural context. Regardless of how we attempt to examine it, many critical pedagogues approach the issue of whiteness as they would any other social phenomenon by intimately engaging and exploring “issues of power and power differences between white and non-white people” (Kincheloe, 1999, p. 162). Power itself must be contextualized further within issues of ideology, epistemology, and hegemonic reproduction (Apple, Foucault, Gramsci).
Here we go, I need a place to vent I may as well start here. Maybe someone will listen! I just came off of 6 mths of unemployment, And guess what? It wasn't because I wasn't trying to find work, It's because we have no jobs at least not for those of us who really want them. I have been busting my arse looking for work! I am an unemployed welder with alot of experience. I have been to so many factories at least the ones that are left here in my city,When I get there I have to gesture in the palm of my hand that I would like to fill out an application, Because when I try to speak to someone they act as if they don't understand me. This is because most of the employed at these factories are Hispanic, As well as alot of the population in the city I live in. Now I have spent alot of time @ the local unemployment office & I look around and everyone that is there is speaking english and having no trouble negotiating the system. Can someone please tell me why it is that all these people are there trying to get unemployment benefits when everywhere I go I see & hear the same thing.Our factories are full of people that I'm pretty sure are not legal citizens. They don't want to go through the process to become legal, They don't learn the English language. And guess what? They are working! Hmmmmmmmmm! Something about that just dose'nt set well with me, And I'm not the only one. People are angry, I see it & hear it everywhere I go. How about our 2 politicians that are running for president do something about that? Instead of taxing the heck out of us and promising things they will NEVER deliver on.
People are losing thier jobs,Then their homes, Their families are falling apart.The economy is in such as mess. Yet, we can't find work because people have our jobs & they could care less about the people who want them & deserve them. What about us? The UNITED STATES CITIZEN, DO WE MATTER? REMEMBER WE HAVE CARRIED THIS COUNTRY FOR MANY MANY YEARS. Things have been going pretty well,up until the last year or so. I guess whom ever reads this will figure out that yes I am very angry.
Vangent Awarded $23 Million Contract to Support Force Health Protection & Readiness
“Vangent, Inc., a leading global provider of information management and strategic business process outsourcing solutions, today announced that the Department of Defense (DoD) Force Health Protection & Readiness Program Office (FHP&R) has awarded the company a $23 million contract to manage and enhance FHP&R automated information systems.” (Market Watch; 21July08) http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/vangent-awarded-23-million-contract/story.aspx?guid=%7B35B81569-1FFA-40FB-8D80-30DC606F97E7%7D&dist=hppr
Killer Kevlar: Clothing That Shields From Germs
“Researchers in South Dakota report progress toward the first Kevlar fabrics that can kill a wide range of infectious agents, including bacteria, viruses, and the spores that cause anthrax. […]The scientists developed a special process to coat Kevlar samples with acyclic N-Halamine, a potent germ-fighting substance. They then exposed coated and uncoated fabric samples to E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida tropicalis (a fungus), MS2 virus, and Bacillus subtilis spores (to mimic anthrax).” (Science Daily; 21July08) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080721092412.htm
Bio Weapons Monitor System Draws Criticism
“Homeland Security experts consider Southern Nevada a high-risk target for terrorist attacks […] one of 30 major cities nationwide that actually monitor the air for biological weapons. The program is called BioWatch. BioWatch has drawn criticism since it began five years ago. Just this week, members of a Congressional subcommittee heard it characterized as a ‘parasite’ by the local public health officials tasked with running it.”
(Las Vegas Now; 21July08)
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=8701384&nav=168X
Completion of VX neutralization means many things to [Vermillion] Valley [Indiana]
“For more than 40 years, one of the last and deadliest remnants of the Cold War — 2.5-million pounds of VX — has been sitting quietly in carbon steel barrels in Vermillion County, part of a stockpile of chemical weapons the United States has been trying to dispose of for more than a decade.” (The Tribune-Star; 21July08; Deb Kelly) http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_201225101.html
Boone, Avondale [Colorado] to hold chem-demil meetings
“Public meetings on the next phase of the Defense Department’s effort to destroy Pueblo’s stockpile of chemical weapons will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in Boone and Avondale.” (The Pueblo Chieftain; 21July08; John Norton) http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/07/20/news/local/doc4882d6376a7c2288377999.txt
RNC [Republican National Convention] has hospitals ready for anything
“Medical personnel scrambled to set up decontamination showers in an ambulance garage. Others donned head-to-toe hazardous materials protection suits. Pagers beeped madly as doctors and nurses rushed to help victims. Luckily, none of it was real. It was just the latest drill by metro hospitals in more than a year of preparation for medical calamities in advance of the Republican National Convention […]” (Star Tribune; 18Jul08; Chen May Yee) http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/conventions/25638404.html?page=1&c=y
Defentect Invited to Join 'Operation Golden Phoenix' Disaster Response Training Event
“Defentect™ gamma radiation detection network will be a participating technology at the Golden Phoenix real world disaster response laboratory environment in San Diego, July 21 – 24. Federal, state and local agencies will engage in a large-scale terrorism training event led by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection, the County of San Diego, the City of San Diego and U.S. Marine Corps Aircraft Group-46.” (The Earth Times; 21Jul08) http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/defentect-invited-to-join-operation-golden-phoenix-disaster-response-training-event,473859.shtml
Soviet uranium removed from Bulgaria
“The last of the highly enriched uranium stored in Bulgaria was removed from the country Thursday and transported to a secured site in Russia. […] The removal of the uranium, stored in Bulgaria since the 1970s, is part of an initiative to deter nuclear proliferation by terrorist groups and other militants whose stated goals include detonating a dirty bomb constructed with nuclear material.” (The Middle East Times; 18Jul08; United Press International)
http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/07/18/soviet_uranium_removed_from_bulgaria/9b36/
Would-be Vegas hitman’s story ends in Irish jail
“Essam Ahmed Eid, a 53-year-old Egyptian man living in Vegas and dealing poker at the Bellagio, dreamed of becoming a hit man. […] After [Sharon] Collins [the alleged contractor] was arrested, police searched Eid’s cell and found he had a contact lens case with traces of Ricin inside. That evidence, on top of the e-mail, the phone calls, the testimony from Engle and the money Lying Eyes sent to Vegas, was enough for a jury to find Eid and Collins guilty. Collins was convicted of soliciting and conspiring to murder the Howards. Eid was convicted of extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in Ireland, and assorted theft charges, for the office break-in.” (Las Vegas Sun; 20Jul08; Abigail Goldman) http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jul/20/would-be-vegas-hitmans-story-ends-irish-jail/
Another Former High-Ranking Iraqi Official Confirms WMD Went to Syria
“Ali Ibrahim al-Tikriti says he was southern regional commander for Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen militia in the late 1980s and a personal friend of the dictator. Units under his command dealt with chemical and biological weapons. He was known as the ‘Butcher of Basra’ due to his campaigns and defected shortly before the Gulf War in 1991. This interview aims to gain some insight into the current situation in Iraq.” (International Analyst Network; 21July08; Ryan Mauro)
http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=2276
City [Johnstown, Pennsylvania] hosting physicians’ disaster-Training program
“Eight physicians have begun Training in the four-year program, with an emphasis on disaster response and bioterrorism. [...] If approved by the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, the subspecialty will be incorporated with Memorial’s [hospital] newest residency program.”
(The Tribune-Democrat; 20July08; Randy Griffith) http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_202201422.html
[National] College [Salem, North Carolina] Helps Prepare for Disaster
“National College in Salem partnered with the Near Southwest Preparedness Alliance (NSPA) [...] They sponsored a three-day planning and Training seminar by the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center that prepared medical teams for situations involving weapons of mass destruction, bioterrorism, radiation exposure and even chemical warfare.” (Red Orbit; 19July08; Jones Ryan)
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1485718/college_helps_prepare_for_disaster/
US military to be part of NZ exercise
“A large United States military delegation will take part in an international security exercise in New Zealand in September. […] The exercise, which involves stopping a ship carrying materials that could be used to make weapons of mass destruction, is being organised as part of New Zealand's commitment to the Proliferation Security Initiative. The initiative was set up by the United States five years ago to get countries to cooperate on stopping illicit shipments of weapons and materials that could be used to make chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.”
(Stuff.co.nz; 21July08; The Dominion Post, Hank Schouten) http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4626131a6160.html
International Journalists Discuss Iranian Missile Threat
“Iran’s testing of two separate rounds of long-range ballistic missiles earlier this month has aggravated tensions between Tehran and the United States, Israel, and even the Arab states in the region. […] Iranian journalist Ali Reza Nourizadeh, who directs the Center for Arab and Iranian studies in London, agrees that Tehran has probably exaggerated the range and accuracy of its missiles. Nonetheless, they are still ‘very dangerous’ because the hundreds of kilos of explosives they carry could be ‘turned to chemical and biological warheads.’” (VOA News; 21July08; Judith
Latham)
http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/2008-07-21-voa25.cfm
CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.
By Air Force Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith
Special to American Forces Press Service
June 12, 2008 - Governors in four of six Midwestern states affected by heavy rains and subsequent flooding called out more than 2,000 National Guard members this week as flood waters forced residents from their homes, left thousands without power and damaged infrastructure. The severe weather began in the region June 4 and continued for several days, with flood waters continuing to rise today. It included heavy rains, tornados, hail, severe lighting and, in one instance, nearly 11 inches of rain near the Indianapolis area within a matter of hours.
Many officials were comparing the floods to the Midwest's historic "Great Flood of 1993," which caused an estimated $15 billion in damage.
National Guard members in Indiana, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Iowa were continuing their support to civil authorities with manpower and equipment today. Helping them were additional Guard members from neighboring states.
In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels called out more than 1,300 Guard members to assist in evacuations, search and rescue, security, road blocks, sandbagging, and other emergency assistance missions. President Bush declared much of central Indiana a major disaster area.
National Guard Bureau officials reported that a variety of Guard equipment was being used to assist emergency responders in Indiana and its affected communities, including 35 5-ton trucks, 37 Humvees, five UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, 26 potable water trailers, 17 light-medium tactile vehicles, and five buses. Still other special equipment and personnel include members of the West Virginia National Guard's 53rd Civil Support Team, as well as an RC-26B Metroliner reconnaissance aircraft.
"We are here for the citizens of Indiana," said Army Capt. Andy Weaver in an Indiana National Guard news report. Weaver and other Guard members helped evacuate at least 256 patients from a flooded hospital June 8 in Columbus. "Even though some of our soldiers have been affected by the flooding, they are here helping out the community. This is where they feel they should be," he added.
Indiana Guard members also were delivering Red Cross supplies, equipment and personnel to the town of Worthington. They delivered 7,200 gallons of water to the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency and provided self-contained shower units to the town of Hope in Bartholomew County.
In Iowa, Guard officials reported many lakes, rivers and streams were at near-record levels, flooding communities and forcing many Iowans out of their towns and homes. Gov. Chet Culver mobilized at least 640 Guard soldiers and airmen for state active duty to assist in the state's disaster response. The governor declared 40 counties as disaster areas.
The Guard members are partnering with federal, state, county and local officials in at least 11 counties and are providing generator support and emergency drinking water. Other Guard members are involved in sandbagging and transportation, as well as securing bridges.
A band of storms that moved across West Virginia on June 5 caused severe flooding that forced Gov. Joe Manchin to declare a state of emergency for at least 15 counties.
At least 97 West Virginia Guard members responded to affected areas with military dump trucks, Humvees, water supplies, backhoes and other equipment to assist residents and local responders as river levels climbed. The Guard members were removing debris with their equipment in at least five counties.
The Wisconsin National Guard mobilized at least 80 soldiers and airmen. The soldiers were providing potable water and sandbags to flooded counties. Officials reported that soldiers of 2nd Brigade were tasked to deliver 20,000 sandbags to Dodge County and the village of Mukwonago. Guard soldiers from 147th Aviation were assisting in aerial damage-assessment missions for military and state leaders. The other states flew similar aerial assessment missions for their leaders.
Army Spc. Cassandra Groce from the Kentucky National Guard reported today that an RC-26B from 186th Air Refueling Wing in Meridian, Miss., arrived in Wisconsin yesterday to fly over dozens of affected areas in the state to provide live video. A similar Guard aircraft from West Virginia flew missions over flooded areas of Indiana.
The capability allows engineers on the ground to plan reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and was employed after Hurricane Katrina. It was tested during last year's Guard response to the California wildfires and is now being used for the first time in the flooded states, Groce reported.
Army Master Sgt. Paul Gorman from the Wisconsin Guard reported yesterday that 924th Engineer Detachment dispatched engineer elements to team up with civilian engineers at key damage sites in three heavily affected counties. A Wisconsin Guard UH-60 Black Hawk from 147th Aviation Battalion also provided aerial assessment, Gorman reported.
In addition, 54th Civil Support Team brought communication, liaison and combat-lifesaver capabilities to support the ground-based engineer element in western Vernon County.
(Air Force Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith serves with the National Guard Bureau.)
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