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 Nebraska Guard Soldiers apply military experience to flood response By Army Capt. Andrew Nelson
                Nebraska National Guard
 LINCOLN, Neb. - With a fondness for physical  activity and the outdoors, Army Sgt. Matthew Hagen, a carpentry and masonry  specialist with the Nebraska Army National Guard’s 195th Special Operations  Forward Support Company, never envisioned himself working in an office. So, being assigned to Nebraska’s Emergency Operations  Center, where he’s coordinating logistics as part of the state’s response to  flooding, has been a new experience. Nonetheless, it is a role he has excelled at, according  to his supervisor. “I’m still very much a field Soldier,” Hagen said. “It  helps me be a better point of contact with the riggers, the transportation  guys, the guys actually out there doing operations.” Television camera crews are often drawn to Soldiers  patrolling levees. Pictures of helicopters hoisting giant sandbags are sure to  be widely published in print and online. But no less important is something  that receives considerably less of a draw to the cameraman’s lens – the  behind-the-scenes orchestration that makes it all possible. Much of Nebraska’s 2011 flood response coordination is  being performed by the men and women of the Nebraska National Guard. Soldiers have helped coordinate relief supplies, advised  their civilian counterparts and answered the state’s flood hotline, among other  duties. Hagen’s job at the EOC was simply to answer phones at  first. But he kept taking on different assignments and excelling, said his boss  there, Earl Imler of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. “Everything in the world I dump on Matt. I kind of abuse  him if you want to know the truth,” Imler said. “It just kept escalating. ... It  got to the point, every time I turn around it’s, ‘Matt, I need this,’ and he  has done an exceptional job at it.” Hagen is doing much of the logistical coordinating for  the state’s response. He ensures items like slings and sandbags are ordered  from private companies and that they get to where they are needed. He also  makes sure troops in the field have what they need in order to accomplish their  missions. Like other Guard members working the flood response,  Hagen brings a sense of mission focus to the job that some civilians might  lack, Imler said. But he also is very personable and does not spew military  jargon at civilians – but he does address everyone as “sir” or “ma’am,” which  is deeply rooted in military customs. “He endears himself to people and everybody likes him  here. He’s a very likable guy.” Just down the hall from Hagen is Army Pvt. Amanda Berry  of the 402nd Military Police Battalion. Berry has been answering phones for the  Nebraska flood hotline. Berry said she and her comrades were fielding about 10  calls per hour. “We’re where everybody is getting their information,”  Berry said. “They get information from the news ... and they call us if they have  questions about it, and we put it in simpler terms for them.” Like many other Guard members, Berry said the most  rewarding part of flood duty was helping Nebraskans in need. “There [are] a lot of people [who] are having a lot of  trouble right now,” she said. “We just try to help them as much as we can by  giving them shelter information, or stuff like that.” On the other side of the road from the EOC is the Sprit  of 1776 Armory, the 41st Rear Operations Center which served as the Joint  Operations Center. About 20 Soldiers there are under command of Army Lt. Col.  Todd Stevens, commander of the ROC. The JOC is responsible for helping coordinate current and  future National Guard support missions and provides information to state  decision makers, including Army Maj. Gen. Judd Lyons, state adjutant general. “The Joint Operations Center is actually staffed to kind  of be the eyes and ears ..., not only for General Lyons, but also for the  governor with respect to what the National Guard’s capabilities are [and] what  assets we have available,” Stevens said. Back in the EOC, Hagen works on emergency management  courses during what little free time he has. Before he went on duty here June 2, the former  corrections officer wanted to obtain full-time employment with the Nebraska  Guard. However, with people like Imler who are so pleased with his work, this  Soldier with the maroon beret of airborne troops folded on his desk thinks a  career in emergency management may be in his future.
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