BRYAN, Texas — Earlier today, Texas Task Force 1 Helicopter Search and Rescue Technicians attended helicopter hoist-rescue training at the RELLIS Campus.
Texas Task Force 1 is a quick-reaction, multi-disciplined urban search and rescue task force, able to deploy for aerial, waterborne and ground search and rescue operations. Twenty-five task force members, along with Texas Military Department aircrews, completed the monthly training that included multiple rescue scenarios involving simulated floodwater, inundated structures and vehicles.
“We were designed and put in place specifically for events like Hurricane Harvey,” said Helicopter Search and Rescue Technician Lee Barker. “We have a phenomenal impact because we are able to get to people in places that neither a boat nor a high-profile vehicle can get to. When we get into a disaster situation and we are trying to pull someone off a roof or out of rushing water, we are able to do it because we have trained so often during the year.”
Texas Task Force 1 is maintained by Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, a partner of the RELLIS Campus. Three TEEX training divisions are located on the approximately 2,000-acre, high-tech research, technology development and education campus.
“Chancellor Sharp’s vision for developing a 21st Century research, innovation, education and workforce training campus continues to take shape. The RELLIS Campus provides an ideal location for partners, such as Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, to provide critical training and educational opportunities to emergency responders, like Texas Task Force 1,” said John Barton, Associate Vice Chancellor and Director of the RELLIS Campus.
Texas Task Force 1 was established in 1997 and functions as one of 28 teams under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Urban Search and Rescue System. Previously, the task force has been mobilized during significant disasters including Hurricanes Harvey and Katrina and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center.
“Today’s training scenarios were based on real-world rescues that were performed by our team during the Hurricane Harvey response,” said Brett Dixon, Helicopter Search and Rescue Program Manager. “It is important to train like we respond.”
About the RELLIS Campus
Founded in 2016, the RELLIS Campus is one of The Texas A&M University System’s private-public partnerships. Located in Bryan, TX, the RELLIS Campus serves as an ecosystem that fosters cutting-edge research, technology development, higher education and workforce training. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), along with academic, corporate and private partners, conduct valuable research for world-changing technologies, processes and products with state-of- the-art research laboratories, testing and proving grounds. At the RELLIS campus, post-secondary degree education and training are offered with programs through Blinn College, multiple universities within the Texas A&M System and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). For more information visit rellistamus.wpengine.com
Contact: Shylo Adams
Senior Communications Specialist
(979) 458-6022
sadams@tamus.edu
About TEEX
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service helps communities and public and private entities worldwide by providing training and services needed to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural and man-made disasters. Programs include emergency services, infrastructure, safety, law enforcement, cybersecurity, economic development, and workforce development, taught by instructors with real-world experience.