Coast Guard Aircrew Receives Flight Medals for Texas Flood Response

On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security awarded its highest honor to a rescue swimmer who made a heroic effort to save lives after the disastrous Guadeloupe River flood.

During the response, Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Ruskan, 26, set an all-time Coast Guard record for most rescues on a single mission. Hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic, a summer retreat for girls outside of Hunt, Texas were caught unprepared, and multiple cabins were flooded by fast-flowing, debris-laden water. The survivors were stranded and needed evacuation.

The Coast Guard received a request for assistance, and dispatched a helicopter aircrew out of Air Station Corpus Christi, located about 160 miles to the southeast of the camp. The same heavy weather that had caused the flash floods also made flying difficult, and the helicopter was forced to land for safety multiple times. It took six hours for the aircrew to reach the scene.

When Ruskan's MH-65 aircrew arrived at the camp, he volunteered to stay behind so that the small helicopter could carry two more campers per trip. Ruskan helped reassure the young campers, who had been through a traumatic experience, and organized the loading to speed up the evacuation process. In all, he helped 169 people get away from the scene in one day. For his efforts, the Coast Guard awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross.

"Petty Officer Ruskan launched on the first Coast Guard aircraft, making three perilous attempts to reach survivors. Facing rising floodwaters and unstable terrain, he volunteered to remain on the ground at a critical moment in the rescue operation, putting his own safety at great risk," the Coast Guard said in a statement. "As the sole first responder at the chaotic Camp Mystic evacuation landing zone, Petty Officer Ruskan overcame crippled communications and dangerous conditions to triage survivors."

Pilot Lieutenant Ian Hopper also received the Distinguished Flying Cross for carrying out a "harrowing instrument flight" and "narrowly avoiding disaster" on the below-the-clouds trip in near-zero visibility. Lt. Blair O. Ogujiofor, the co-pilot, received the Air Medal for leading the two-helicopter mission, carrying out obstacle avoidance, coordinating comms and deconflicting the flight paths of 12 other helicopters to evacuate survivors. Flight mechanic Petty Officer 3rd Class Seth N. Reeves received the Air Medal for detecting a mechanical fault early in the mission and helping the pilots navigate beneath the cloud layer using road maps.

The awards were a bright spot for the Department of Homeland Security after a difficult news cycle. On Saturday, the New York Times reported that thousands of people affected by Texas flooding had not been able to reach the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) because the department had dismissed hundreds of contractors who worked at its call centers, effective July 5 - the day after the flood. The contracts were not renewed until July 10. The current Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, requires all contracts over $100,000 to be held until after she personally reviews and signs off on them.

Four FEMA officials also told CNN that Noem's new requirement for personal review and signature on large contracts delayed the initial federal response to the flooding, reducing the availability of skilled search and rescue personnel on scene. While awaiting Noem's signature, FEMA officials did not have the funding to move and preposition urban search and rescue teams near the flood zone. Noem did not sign off on FEMA's search and rescue deployments until three days after the flood, multiple sources told CNN.

The current death toll from the flood stands at 129, and about half a dozen people remain missing. Search efforts continue, and Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged a thorough attempt to locate all remains.