Mr. Met

From:
2 / 218 FA, Maintenance Section (TEAM BOAT)
Sept 2005


GOD’S ACRE IN THE HELL OF KATRINA

A few weeks ago none of us knew that we would be coming together as a team in a field artillery unit to do such important work in a time of disaster on such a grand scale. More so, none of us knew that what we were to do was so far a field from our specialized training that the very product of our work would be the doing of saving lives and ensuring mission success of that endeavor.


What is more poignant is where we were sent, as if directed by God and with the excellent foresight and leadership of the senior NCO’s for the section; a church of historical significance , 148 years old was selected of all places to facilitate our operations. The section was comprised of a hodgepodge of disciplines; 4 mechanics, 3 cooks, a forward observer, a cannon crew member, an ammunitions man, a BOC operator and a weatherman. We thought we would be helping with trucks and maintenance stuff but this was not the case, we found ourselves instead submerged in boats and motors and every item imaginable associated with it. We were to become known as “TEAM BOAT’, a boat assembly unit. Our job was to assemble motors and maintain them for the platoons of the 2 / 218 FA so that they could forge out into the flooded neighborhoods of New Orleans to help those stranded and then to recover those taken by this terrible storm.


The church grounds were ravaged with down trees, broken glass and tiles as well as sheets of metal which was thrown about the property like confetti, wood from buildings and shingling every where. The grotto’s and fountains were alive with mosquito larva to an extent that one could not imagine and the final insult to the sense was a stench reminiscent of death.


Every soldier knew that a monumental task lay ahead; they knew this was God’s property and that the Father of this church had given this unit his blessing to come onto this land to perform its operations. Like an unconscious sense the section felt compelled to restore as much as possible the beauty and splendor of what Katrina took away in her wake. Without hesitation or question the section worked their mission into the wee hours of the night fixing boats and generators and insuring that the safety equipment was on board for the crews for the next day while during the day focusing on the chaos around them.
The master sergeant of the section had a very simple approach and a guiding hand that was sure. Like a motto he said to us all, “a little bit at a time”, and that we did. By one’s, two’s and three’s we worked and by the same token the mission was carrying on. The nature of circumstance demanded a guard mount around the clock for the protection of the men, the equipment and the grounds that we were working on.


We were plagued by mosquitoes at night with their thieving blood sucking touch and stealthy approach of a slight tingle on the skin. The aftermath of hellish nights in torrid conditions revealed their visit by morning; it did not matter as it was incidental to the job at hand.


Two soldiers took it upon themselves to search out and alleviate sources of stench, they weren’t asked, they just did it. All soldiers at one time or another took time during the day to do debris cleanup, chlorinate the ponds and various water features to kill off the mosquitoes, then drained and cleaned all of it to a pure aesthetic look of what was before. The grass was mowed, trees were re-supported to their original positions and fencing began to go back up.


It was noticed that the birds were returning and that one of God’s creatures of delight known as the familiar “cat” was coming out of their hiding places. Not to eat the birds as one would think but to be with the men as they worked both the mission and the restoration.


There were twelve of us originally with an addition of a thirteenth to the mix to augment the maintenance of motors that ran the boats. Everyone knew the importance of the job and yet all held a personal commitment without explanation to the grounds that we were working on. The men of the section attribute this to good leadership to success of the mission but all know that within each and everyone one of us, a much higher power was by our side and working with us. God’s oasis had been restored.


The name of the church is called Saint Vincent DePaul located just off the French Quarter of New Orleans.







The following are comments from the “Team Boat” personnel know as the Maintenance section for the 2 / 218 FA of Portland, Oregon. They were asked “what is it about the experience at the church that was most outstanding to them”?


MSG Joel Haag (Motor Sergeant): “Our mission was to maintain the boats and motors for the “search and rescue” mission of the 2 / 218 FA. All of us of the maintenance felt it really important to help the church in the same way we were using the facilities. The church grounds were littered with all sorts of debris and blown down trees. Everyone became involved in the clean up, no complaining, no shirking, no one needed to be asked even though the section worked long hours into the evening preparing the boats for the next day’s mission. What a group of soldiers, I am proud of every one of them.”


Spc. Bahler (Generator Mechanic): “It’s the boats, we started with nothing and put it together! We made generators and motors work that didn’t work.”


Pvt. Johnathan Black (Cannon Crew Member): “The Father opened his house and property to us so that we could do our missions and in return we restored his church grounds. Without question or argument the team gave its all.”


SSG Richard Doolin (Cook): “Being able to clean up the yards and help the Father out; also to be able to protect the church grounds from looters.”


Sgt. Mark Horn (Cook): “Taking a 150 year old historical building and bring it back to life, cleaning off a time capsule that was buried and sealed in 1967 which will be opened in 2016. As far as the team goes I was amazed of our diversity in specialized jobs working as one.”


Spc. Richard Forcier (BOC Operator): “We took an ugly duckling and made a swan out of it. We all came together from out of different spaces to do a common cause.”


Sgt. Edward Arneson (Forward Observer): “The feeling of purpose of cleaning the church grounds and learning about different jobs.”


SSG Edmund L. Jordan (FA Meteorologist): All of it! Creating an oasis in the middle of hell and coming together under a common cause to save people and pets. Restoring God’s land to its original beauty while being allowed to work our missions in return.”

Spc. Jim Bettleyoun (Ammunitions): “Cleaning up the yards, making the stench go away and bringing back the beauty that was. The amazing thing is that we did not know what we were getting into but we came together and got an important job done.”

Sgt. Raymond Smith (Cook): “We took chaos and organized it.”


SSG John M. Gale (Mechanic/ Tech.): “The most important thing to me is when the Father gave his blessing for being there to protect his home and church. Not only were we able to support the battalion mission but we were able to restore the church grounds to a better state than it was found to be in.”


SFC Steven Buck (Maintenance/ Mech.) “I was never more heart filled when the Father returned to the church; he got out of his car, held up both of his hands and thanked the Lord for us being there.”

Sgt. Ard (Mechanic):