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Deployed Mississippi Guardsman Rescues Tornado Victims While on R&R

By Capt. R. L. "Ed" Edwards

The National Guard is one of the first groups of emergency responders called up in the case of a natural disaster. But what if your unit is deployed to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn and you are home on rest and relaxation (R&R) leave?

If you are Sgt. Brandon Sloan, a Guardsman from Amory, Miss. and a member of the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 185st Aviation Regiment, you kiss your wife Jamey, hug your children Haley and Brley (correct spelling), jump in the truck with your dad and go help the rescue efforts in any way you can.

This is exactly what the flight operations sergeant for the 1-185 AHB, Task Force Griffin, did on April 30. Sloan was home from Iraq for his two weeks of R&R listening to his radio scanner as a massive line of thunderstorms rolled in. He heard reports that a deadly tornado had ripped through nearby Smithville.

Sgt. Brandon Sloan, a National Guardsman with Mississippi's 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment, was home from Iraq for two weeks of R&R when a destructive tornado tore up a neighboring town. He spent his R&R assisting tornado victims before returning to Camp Speicher, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. R. L. "Ed" Edwards, 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 185st Aviation Regiment, 40th CAB)

The former firefighter, turned bass boat builder at Nautic Star Boats, heard from a friend that his best friend Derek Nick's house had been in the path of the deadly twister as it plowed through Mississippi on its way to Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Sloan and his father made their way to the friends' home and saw first-hand the incredible destruction wrought by the tornado. Trees uprooted and pushed down like bent blades of grass, and power lines down across the roadways made all ways of ingress impossible. Sloan and his father, after trying several different routes, decided they would have to walk in.

God smiled on Sgt. Sloan's friend Derek that day. Sloan managed to find his friend Derek's family in the half of the house that was still standing.

Sloan grew quiet when he spoke of the destruction. "This was the worst destruction that I've ever seen, that even includes here (Iraq), Kosovo, even being a fireman."

Sloan said he spent three days helping search for people in the rubble of homes. "I helped rescue at least 10 people and several animals. ... There were people everywhere. The tornado just threw them into fields. It threw trees on top of them; there were several people with lacerations, broken bones, and other bumps and bruises, but glad to be alive."

Sloan also helped his friend Derek move what was left of his belongings out of the ruins of what was left of his house. "I only had a few days of R&R leave left, but what are you going to do? You can't just not help. These are your neighbors, your friends."

Sloan served previously in Kosovo and is back serving his country in Iraq. His unit, the 1-185 AHB, is currently attached to the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, which is on a yearlong deployment to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn.