WEBVTT

00:04.350 --> 00:05.710
- It's Captain Chris Jakubczak,

00:05.710 --> 00:08.483
J-A-K-U-B-C-Z-A-K.

00:08.680 --> 00:10.210
I'm the commander of Charlie Company,

00:10.210 --> 00:12.263
First of the 120th Infantry Regiment,

00:12.460 --> 00:14.638
30th ABCT.

00:14.638 --> 00:15.471
[Cameraman] Go ahead, start.

00:15.471 --> 00:17.200
- Okay, it's Captain Chris Jakubczak,

00:17.200 --> 00:21.043
It's J-A-K-U-B-C-Z-A-K.

00:21.410 --> 00:23.180
And I'm Charlie Company Commander,

00:23.180 --> 00:25.030
First of the 120th Infantry Regiment.

00:25.628 --> 00:26.490
[Cameraman] Can you give
your first name too, sir?

00:26.490 --> 00:27.323
- Chris.

00:27.502 --> 00:28.410
[Cameraman] Chris.

00:28.410 --> 00:31.210
And okay, could you take just
a half step to your right?

00:33.310 --> 00:34.441
- 'Cause I was supposed to look at him?

00:34.441 --> 00:35.274
[Cameraman] Yes. (laughs)

00:35.274 --> 00:36.193
No, no, no, that's fine.

00:36.600 --> 00:37.500
Yeah, that's good.

00:38.310 --> 00:40.210
Uh, one, just a little bit, half over.

00:41.621 --> 00:42.621
There we go.

00:43.610 --> 00:47.680
Okay, now, so sir, what's your role been

00:47.680 --> 00:49.180
here throughout this exercise?

00:49.340 --> 00:52.120
- Um, basically I've been
taking over the day shift,

00:52.120 --> 00:53.960
working with the Lumberton
Police Department,

00:53.960 --> 00:57.203
and doing operations through
their search and rescue,

00:59.370 --> 01:01.580
bringing people out, try
to get them to shelters,

01:01.580 --> 01:03.950
bringing them some extra
supplies if needed,

01:03.950 --> 01:05.850
which we really haven't
had too much of that.

01:05.850 --> 01:07.970
And then also going and trying to prevent

01:07.970 --> 01:09.520
some looting that was going on.

01:10.487 --> 01:12.250
[Cameraman] Okay, so what have you seen,

01:12.250 --> 01:14.500
what have you guys seen
since you've been here?

01:14.500 --> 01:16.530
- So far the water in some areas

01:16.530 --> 01:19.100
has been anywhere from
about just a couple inches

01:19.100 --> 01:22.210
to eight feet plus,
depending on the neighborhood

01:22.210 --> 01:25.010
that it was in and where it
was located along the river.

01:25.290 --> 01:29.023
We moved in areas from
where the levee breached,

01:29.300 --> 01:30.690
just in the western part of the city,

01:30.690 --> 01:34.330
back over I-95 and then
over into the Mayfaire area,

01:34.330 --> 01:36.630
which is where the deepest
water is right now.

01:37.889 --> 01:41.500
[Cameraman] Okay, so, what's it been like

01:41.500 --> 01:43.150
working with different operations

01:43.861 --> 01:44.890
down here, different forces?

01:44.890 --> 01:46.180
- Uh, we've been working really well

01:46.180 --> 01:47.750
with the Lumberton Police Department,

01:47.750 --> 01:48.740
I think we established a really good

01:48.740 --> 01:50.333
relationship first off.

01:50.490 --> 01:52.100
We're not the unit that normally

01:52.100 --> 01:53.670
occupies the Lumberton Armory.

01:53.670 --> 01:56.780
They moved further east and we
moved in from the Hamlet area

01:56.940 --> 01:58.833
to occupy and then start work there.

01:58.920 --> 02:00.810
The unit that vacated the Armory here

02:00.810 --> 02:03.510
to move east set up
the levee to start with

02:03.510 --> 02:05.363
with about 5000 sandbags.

02:05.920 --> 02:07.530
But then we came in to go and start doing

02:07.530 --> 02:09.200
the search and rescue operations

02:09.420 --> 02:10.473
while they moved out.

02:11.540 --> 02:14.133
Outside of that, we're
working with 101st Airborne.

02:14.390 --> 02:16.780
They're providing the LMTVs to supplement

02:16.780 --> 02:18.430
the vehicles that we're short on.

02:18.530 --> 02:21.633
And we have some other units
in here as well that's come in.

02:21.780 --> 02:25.830
We also have ATF, FBI,
Sheriff's Department.

02:25.830 --> 02:27.610
There's forces from all over the state

02:27.610 --> 02:28.760
that's come in to help.

02:28.780 --> 02:29.900
And then there's a lot of civilians

02:29.900 --> 02:31.710
that came in to help, like the Cajun Navy,

02:31.710 --> 02:32.960
who brought in a bunch of boats

02:32.960 --> 02:34.780
that allow us to really get into

02:34.780 --> 02:36.330
some of those deep water areas.

02:37.158 --> 02:39.080
[Cameraman] So what's one thing, sir,

02:39.080 --> 02:41.000
that I'm not hitting on here?

02:41.000 --> 02:41.890
I mean, you covered a lot there.

02:41.890 --> 02:44.093
But what's something that you,

02:44.528 --> 02:49.263
I guess from just an
overall American standpoint,

02:49.920 --> 02:50.753
what does it say about everybody

02:50.753 --> 02:53.813
being able to get together
and help out here?

02:54.150 --> 02:55.570
- Overall, I have to say, you know,

02:55.570 --> 02:57.560
it really says a lot when you see

02:57.560 --> 02:58.740
all these people come together

02:58.740 --> 03:00.970
from all over the country to really

03:00.970 --> 03:02.350
help out the people that are here.

03:02.350 --> 03:04.700
There are some very poor
districts to the city,

03:04.770 --> 03:08.013
and the flood really affects
those poor districts.

03:08.160 --> 03:10.740
But overall, the hurricane really doesn't

03:10.740 --> 03:12.070
discriminate against anyone.

03:12.070 --> 03:14.470
They come in and everyone's affected.

03:14.470 --> 03:17.450
So it taxes the local system so much

03:17.660 --> 03:20.540
that they have to go and
rely on outside resources,

03:20.540 --> 03:22.063
which is where we come in.

03:22.700 --> 03:25.410
That being said, having
people come in from

03:25.410 --> 03:26.780
as far away from, that I've seen,

03:26.780 --> 03:29.163
from Texas and other states,

03:30.300 --> 03:32.300
on their own money,
paying for their own gas,

03:32.300 --> 03:33.900
to go and help these people out,

03:33.930 --> 03:36.930
just basically shows the
resolve that everyone has.

03:36.930 --> 03:39.050
I mean it's a really good thing to say,

03:39.050 --> 03:41.130
even though all the issues that are in

03:41.130 --> 03:42.303
the country right now,

03:42.390 --> 03:44.060
this goes and proves all that wrong.

03:44.060 --> 03:45.710
We're willing to help each other.

03:45.958 --> 03:47.670
[Cameraman] So what's, any last things

03:47.670 --> 03:50.490
that I didn't cover,
sir, that you feel like?

03:51.080 --> 03:52.660
- You know, I say this, I've said it

03:52.660 --> 03:55.310
to some of the reporters
that came down here and all,

03:55.900 --> 03:58.873
for the National Guard, we wear two hats.

03:58.950 --> 04:01.310
We have our war fighting
function that we go over,

04:01.310 --> 04:04.230
and just recently we left Texas

04:04.230 --> 04:06.560
doing a training event down
there for the last month,

04:06.560 --> 04:08.910
and within about two
weeks we transitioned from

04:08.910 --> 04:11.430
that war fighting function to a domestic

04:11.750 --> 04:14.230
assistance here in
Lumberton and throughout

04:14.230 --> 04:15.780
the state due to the hurricane.

04:15.850 --> 04:18.253
And all these soldiers that come in,

04:18.400 --> 04:20.190
they're National Guard soldiers.

04:20.190 --> 04:21.450
They have civilian jobs,

04:21.450 --> 04:23.010
their families are all over the state,

04:23.010 --> 04:25.530
and a lot of those families
were affected by the storm.

04:25.530 --> 04:27.200
So for these men and women,

04:27.200 --> 04:29.593
they came in, they put on that other hat,

04:29.670 --> 04:31.060
they're doing the job here,

04:31.060 --> 04:33.283
and they won't leave until the job's done.

04:33.370 --> 04:36.303
So I have to give them the
credit where that credit is due.