By Carmela Burke, Volunteer, American Red Cross Los Angeles Region

Typhoon Mawar made landfall in Guam on May 24, 2023, as a Category 4 storm becoming the strongest storm to drench the US territory in at least 20 years.

I had recently returned from a 2-week vacation in early May to the Philippines. After learning of the depth of impact and making sure there were no pending personal commitments, the 3-week deployment wheels started spinning as Supertyphoon Mawar churned in the North Pacific. This would be my second flight west to cross over the Pacific Ocean in one month.  At the time, I was 1 of 4 from Los Angeles to first join the response out of 490 responders from the continental US, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Micronesia assigned virtually or on the ground to DR 335-23.

As flights to Guam via Hawaii or Japan were getting canceled and airports were closing, coordinating travel was only one of the first challenges. With several unknowns on the horizon, I found it best to merely lug a carry-on and backpack and remain flexible as NHQ coordinated travel on my behalf. Flexibility being one of the key cornerstones of any deployment, I was prepared to leave.  

Military Flights

Though off to a seemingly typical start, this was a unique deployment. Typhoon Mawar was my 70th deployment and 3rd “island job.”  Each disaster is different. Mawar stood out for me because of the military flight. 

On Friday, May 26, 2023, 15 Red Cross staff and volunteers converged at 0600 at a specified airport location in Honolulu. Led by Denise Everhart, division disaster executive for the American Red Cross Pacific Division, we stood in the designated area along with hundreds fellow non-profit and government partner agencies. As the sun rose, we all waited for military flight arrangements to be confirmed, changed, and reconfirmed. Flexibility and patience on this hardship assignment remain crucial. After a leadership meeting with Bob Fenton, FEMA Region IX Administrator, Denise read the manifest that would group us into two Red Cross teams.  

Jumpseat10

My travel group comprised of 3 employees and 7 volunteers, respectively: Denise, Ian, Erin, Laura, Diana, MaryJane, Mo, Shari, Carmela, and Stan with his 6 pelicans…as in cases. We boarded Taxicabs to take us to Hickam Air Force Base. We had to hop off and unload our gear because commercial vehicles were not cleared for entry into the base. This meant us walking the remaining 2 miles to the tarmac waiting area. Even our luggage wheels passed the hardship assignment test.

As soon as we cleared security, boarding was alphabetical per manifest no matter what agency you represented. “Burke! Here! Am I the only Burke? Carmela? Yup!” After boarding, we followed the tarmac leader to the C-17 aircraft.  

IT WAS HUGE! We settled in our jump seats for the 7.5-hour flight from Honolulu to Guam, a first in terms of travel accommodations. Another first, while I never came across any during field work, unexploded ordnance safety was a critical safety consideration during this assignment due to munitions scattered on land or water around the island. More than 70 deployments, and I still gain and learn from new experiences. 

Join Us!  

Volunteers comprise 90% of the Red Cross workforce. For information on volunteer opportunities at any age, visit redcross.org/volunteer for more information. 

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/la or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCrossLA.