FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Approximately 10 Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade's 510th Human Resources Company departed Fort Drum on Thursday and deployed to Puerto Rico to provide human resources services for troops supporting Hurricane Maria relief efforts.
"We will be providing personnel accountability and theater gateway operations for all joint force, active-duty troops deployed to the area for hurricane relief," said Staff Sgt. Eric Taylor, acting platoon sergeant for the deployment. "This is what we train for, (and) to be able to do it in a real-world environment is amazing. It's good to be part of a mission that directly helps so many people."
The team of human resources specialists left Fort Drum with little more than 24 hours' notice, and it is not known when the Soldiers will return.
"We found out Wednesday afternoon that we might be leaving, and then about six hours later when we got the definite 'yes,' we went full force, as fast as we could," said 1st Lt. Tessa Harbison, the group's platoon leader. "The attitudes and morale have been great. We're always ready."
This is the second time in less than a month that a team from 510th HR Company has deployed to provide human resources services in a hurricane-affected area. In late August, a team of 18 Soldiers traveled to Texas, where they spent 12 days assisting in human resources operations for troops responding to Hurricane Harvey.
"They called us up because they knew we could do it," said Sgt. James Munoz. "As part of the 10th Mountain Division, we've been ready for this. We got everything set to go within a day; not every unit could do that."
The storm hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 21, devastating its infrastructure and leaving the entire island without power.
Although none of the 510th HR Soldiers has personal ties to Puerto Rico, their deployment provided an opportunity for an Army Civilian employed on the island's Fort Buchanan to return home.
Angelo Velez, a telephone switch administrator with Fort Buchanan's Network Enterprise Center, came to Fort Drum for what was supposed to be a two-week training. However, because of the damage on the island, Velez's return flight was cancelled on three separate occasions, leaving him stuck on Fort Drum away from family and loved ones in Puerto Rico.
"I feel great getting to go back to Puerto Rico," Velez said. "I thought I would end up being here longer, but the folks at Fort Drum really pulled together. They were very helpful and really good hosts here. They really went out all the way to get me back to home."
Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum commander, along with the brigade and battalion command teams, visited with the deploying Soldiers at the Rapid Deployment Facility on Fort Drum's Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield to share words of wisdom and encouragement before their departure.
"They never ask us if we're ready; they expect it. We stay ready all the time," Piatt said. "This is important. Puerto Rico is a tough place to get to, but these are our citizens suffering right now. This relief effort has to be organized, and it has to start getting executed.
"The supplies are getting there, but they're not getting inland to the people; the support and relief crew have got to get in, they've got to get in-processed to move out, and that all starts with you," he told the Soldiers. "I don't think there's any greater honor than to help our citizens in need."
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