Royal C. Johnson Veterans Memorial Hospital
Flood 2011
Members of the South Dakota Army and Air National Guard, like these VA employees, have been working alongside local, state, and federal agencies to provide aid to the citizens of South Dakota.
As flood waters damage communities along the Missouri River in South Dakota, the relief efforts have built coordination and a spirit of teamwork among flood relief workers. Sioux Falls VA employees, Collin Enstad, Beth Dellman, and Bob Godes, have recently returned from military leave helping in Pierre and Fort Pierre with the flood operations. They were 3 of the 12 VA employees who were activated to help with the flood. Members of the South Dakota Army and Air National Guard, like these VA employees, have been working alongside local, state, and federal agencies to provide aid to the citizens of South Dakota.
Enstad, Dellman, and Godes were all involved in flood operations support in the Pierre/Fort Pierre area during May and June. Their call to duty was quick, receiving notice one day and reporting for duty the next. Within the first 24 hours, South Dakota Air and Army National Guard had called and activated 350 members to fight the rising waters, and in 48 hours, 600 were activated.
Collin Enstad, a Rating Veterans Service Representative, is a Captain for the Army National Guard 1-147th out of Watertown. Captain Enstad directed operations and troop movement. His main concern was “troops to task.” Tasks consisted initially of filling sandbags and constructing levees, and later transitioned into patrolling levees, reinforcing and maintaining the infrastructure such as the pump house, water plant, and storm drains. Enstad felt that the initiative taken by the Guard led to impressive results. After ten days, one million sandbags had been filled, and everyone continued to work diligently to construct nearly 4000 feet of levee and monitor the structural integrity of over 8.5 miles of levee. “Resiliency is big,” Enstad spoke of the Guard members, “never underestimate the willpower of these people.”
Staff Sergeant Bob Godes is also part of the Army National Guard 1-147th, and served as a medic in Pierre. Filling sandbags and caring for any injuries was a different job for Godes, who is a Nuclear Medicine Technologist at the Sioux Falls VA. He worked the 12-hour night shift, which he didn’t mind. Godes mainly filled sandbags, a crucial role that supplied members of the Guard and citizens with the sandbags necessary to stop the water. Despite the uncertainty of how long their deployment would last, Godes notes that “everyone worked hard, had good spirits, and I am proud to have helped out to save everything in the amount of time we had.” He was also impressed with the quick response time the Guard had to the emergency, and how smooth the different agencies and civilians worked together.
Beth Dellman is a Senior Master Sergeant for the 114th Fighter Wing Air National Guard of Sioux Falls. She is the Patient Advocate for Sioux Falls VA, but in Pierre she managed personnel shifts for the Air National Guard, where she maintained the location for all 201 deployed members. With each member working 12 hours on duty and 12 hours off duty, Dellman kept busy. Another challenge to the mission was the water itself, Dellman said, “water is unpredictable, and each day the mission would change.” This was the first time Dellman’s unit had been deployed by the State, and she was impressed with the integration of activities of Air and Army Guard. Teamwork helped accomplish the goal, as every organization involved brought their different strengths and knowledge. The merger of Air and Army for this mission worked as each branch took care of each other, by sharing supplies and equipment.
Local businesses and individuals showed appreciation for the Guard by donating food, water and other supplies. Godes said “donations poured in from everywhere.” Godes also found these locals to be a tremendous support saying, “some stuck it out until 2 or 3 in the morning helping out.” Overall, he was impressed with the amount of time, work, and support that the community put in.
A strong sense of duty to their country and state and a Midwestern work ethic is the norm for the South Dakota Airmen and Soldiers as they took it as their responsibility to save the community from the flood water. Enstad is confident in the service of the National Guard, “If it was our community, the National Guard would be there to help.” When people remember the “big flood of 2011,” Enstad will take pride in how he and his fellow Soldiers and Airmen helped save a community.
