{"id":25461,"date":"2023-08-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=25461"},"modified":"2023-08-31T06:41:17","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T06:41:17","slug":"hawaii-army-national-guard-supports-maui-wildfire-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=25461","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii Army National Guard supports Maui wildfire response"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Spc. Kaimana McBrayer, a fire control specialist with the Hawaii Army National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, pops a \u201cShaka\u201d hand gesture while directing traffic as part of the National Guard\u2019s response to the deadly Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug 25, 2023. The Defense Department and the U.S. Coast Guard are supporting the FEMA-led response to the deadliest wildfire in Hawaii\u2019s history.
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\n Spc. Kaimana McBrayer, a fire control specialist with the Hawaii Army National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, pops a \u201cShaka\u201d hand gesture while directing traffic as part of the National Guard\u2019s response to the deadly Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug 25, 2023. The Defense Department and the U.S. Coast Guard are supporting the FEMA-led response to the deadliest wildfire in Hawaii\u2019s history.
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LAHAINA, Hawaii \u2014 In the aftermath of devastating wildfires, the shaka endures as a poignant symbol of peace, goodwill and unyielding hope in Lahaina. With thumbs and pinkies extended, around 660 Guard members use the hand gesture as an emblem of positivity and unity during response operations across the island of Maui.<\/p>\n

Whether granting access to motorists at checkpoints or directing traffic, \u201cthe last gesture you see is a shaka, as [automobiles] pass you by,\u201d said Spc. Levi Lemisio of Hawaii Army National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment. \u201cIt\u2019s nonverbally communicating the Aloha Spirit \u2014 something that is needed more than ever amid the death and destruction the wildfires have caused.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Lahaina grapples with the challenges of recovering from the wildfires, Guard members are staffing 21 entry control points and ensuring public order and safety. The Guard has also fought fires, dispersing 268,200 gallons of water in 149 bucket drops over 44 flight hours. Another 40 Guard members are engaged in search and recovery missions as part of Joint Task Force 5-0.<\/p>\n

While natural disasters are not uncommon in the Hawaiian Islands, Spc. Kaimana McBrayer said the fury unleashed by the Aug. 8 fire was particularly heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unreal, especially as a Hawaiian, because we have a special connection to the land and the people \u2014 so this hits close to home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

McBrayer said the core of the checkpoint mission is to keep people safe, as affected sites could still be hazardous.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing here, I had an idea of what I would deal with,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when I started interacting with people who just wanted to go back to their homes and having to turn them away \u2014 it\u2019s really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside McBrayer, Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment are undertaking various missions driven by a collective commitment to the community.<\/p>\n

Spc. Sean Winsko, a cannon crewmember, leverages his civilian career in law enforcement to augment his role managing traffic near Lahaina.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur [military] jobs won\u2019t always play a role in what we are doing during the operation, but that kind of flexibility and variety is what I love about being in the National Guard,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment had just returned from training at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, only to be activated a week later to respond to the wildfires.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we were already acclimated to the heat,\u201d said Army Staff Sgt. Shane Nakata.<\/p>\n

But for the signal support systems specialist and others in his unit, shifting gears from conventional military training to a domestic response operation is what Guard members do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just in our nature,\u201d Nakata said.<\/p>\n

Still, Guard members are keenly aware of the physical and mental challenges ahead.<\/p>\n

Underscoring resilience despite the immeasurable loss of people and homes, Winsko emphasized the strength of those affected by the disaster and the inspiration drawn by personnel supporting recovery efforts, as unified through a common bond of community rooted in aloha.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what is going on, we all come together and put the people of Maui first,\u201d he said, adding that on a \u201cgood day, we\u2019re good. And on a bad day, we make it good.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Spc. Kaimana McBrayer, a fire control specialist with the Hawaii Army National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, pops a \u201cShaka\u201d hand gesture while directing traffic as part of the National Guard\u2019s response to the deadly Maui wildfires in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug 25, 2023. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25463,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25461"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25464,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25461\/revisions\/25464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}