Search & Rescue

Nebraska Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Matthew Hawke, crew chief, helps guide a hoisted civilian into the bed of a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter during flood response efforts, March 14, 2019, near Columbus, Nebraska. Later, the crew chief learned the rescued citizen had brought her small dog to safety in the black bag she carried with her. The Nebraska National Guard provided multiple helicopters and crews to conduct extraction and relocation missions of citizens and pets identified as stranded or isolated due to historic flooding. (Nebraska National Guard photo by Spc. Lisa Crawford)

By the evening of March 14, 2019, the Nebraska National Guard began conducting search and rescue operations over some of the hardest hit areas. Using UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, a UH-72 Lakota helicopter, and high-water vehicles, the Nebraska National Guard helped rescue 112 people and 13 pets. Of those rescues, 66 were performed using hoist mechanisms – something the Nebraska National Guard Soldiers are highly trained to execute, with many experiences supporting other states during hurricane response efforts, but virtually unheard of before within Nebraska.

“In the first few days of our response to the flood, the most immediate concern was preserving life, and the speed at which the flood waters were moving and the number of rivers that were flooding simultaneously certainly presented challenges to us all,” said Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac, Nebraska adjutant general.

One of the rescue missions a Nebraska Blackhawk helicopter crew completed included pulling seven fire rescuers from icy floodwaters near the Elkhorn River after two airboats capsized during a rescue attempt in Dodge County. The helicopter crews took the extracted rescuers – from Fremont and Cedar Bluffs – to the hospital where they were treated for hypothermia and released.

The “Arlington Seven” – seven firefighters from Fremont and Cedar Bluffs – smile inside the body of a Nebraska National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after being rescued, March 14, 2019, from the Elkhorn river when their two airboats capsized. (Courtesy Photo)

“We’ve never used the National Guard before, and those guys saved us,” Fremont firefighter Nick Morris said during an emotional press conference a few days after the rescue. “Forever grateful for those guys.”

“I’m very proud of what we were able to accomplish,” Bohac said. “To be here to help our neighbors; to help the folks that we live and work with everyday in this state is a humbling thing, but one in which we at the same time take great pride in being able to be part of the team from all across the state that helped everyone that they could to survive, and to help those begin that long journey of recovery that we’re on.”

A Nebraska Army National Guard crew chief and a young Nebraska boy named Jack poses with thumbs -up aboard a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after being rescued. Jack’s mother said they are forever grateful the Nebraska National Guard helped bring Foxie (the stuffed animal), along too. (Photo courtesy of Tami Sorensen)

“Nobody else gets to do that in the Armed Forces like we get to do it,” Bohac added. “To be America’s military first responder; to be Nebraska’s military first responder. To help. It’s a good thing.”

The Nebraska National Guard helicopter crews worked together, using both UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters primarily for hoists and extractions, and UH-72 Lakota helicopters for their Security & Support Mission Equipment Package  which allowed them to survey areas for those in need of help and to observe rescues as they took place.

Soldiers with the Nebraska Army National Guard help support flood response efforts, March 14, 2019, near Columbus, Nebraska, providing multiple helicopters and crews to conduct extraction and relocation missions of citizens and pets identified as stranded or isolated due to historic flooding. Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and one UH-72 Lakota helicopter began conducting search and rescue missions, hoisting individuals from roofs of partially submerged houses in the Columbus area, and transporting them to the parking lot of the Pawnee Plunge Water Park, where local first responders were ready to assist. (Nebraska National Guard video by Spc. Lisa Crawford)