Team Rubicon Disaster Relief
Disclaimer: this webpage is not created by the larger Team Rubicon organization. This was created for the Mobilizing Hope Capstone class at Portland State University by Lucy Dickens a basic Greyshirt (volunteer). If you would like more information about Team Rubicon as a whole, please check out their website https://teamrubiconusa.org/ for more official information. There is also a docuseries on Roku about Team Rubicon that lays out the history and culture very well. This page is sharing my personal experiences with disaster relief and Team Rubicon.
Lucy Dickens is an Army Veteran who I volunteers with Team Rubicon on disaster relief. I served in the Army for six years and was a little lost when I left the service in 2020. I have had difficulty maintaining work, because of challenges with my physical and mental health. However, when I go out to volunteer at a disaster zone I find that I still have the capacity to do great things when in the environment of other amazing people. Whether that is canvasing the community to find individuals in need or throwing logs that the Sawyers (chainsaw operators) have chopped up or, I am able to contribute. Personally, what I love about Team Rubicon is the camaraderie that we get between fellow greyshirts. Many of whom are Veterans like myself.
Team Rubicon's background |
Team Rubicon is a Disaster Relief organization. It began in 2010 when former Marine Jake Wood saw the devastation in Haiti. He began calling other volunteer organizations saying that he had the skills from his deployments in the Military and he wanted to help. Repeatedly those organizations told him that the best way for him to help was to donate money. Eventually, he got a group of fellow veterans, medics, and crucially one pastor, that flew down to the Dominican Republic. When they crossed the Dominican Republic into the disaster zone of Haiti it was a declaration of coming there on a mission of peace. The name Rubicon comes from this moment, because in ancient Rome the act of crossing the Rubicon river was considered a declaration of war. There were only 8 people on that initial mission from different branches of service or civilian backgrounds. Allegedly, the reason volunteers now are called "greyshirts" is because they could only find enough matching shirts for everyone in that initial trip in the color grey.
Over time, they went to different disasters gaining new volunteers, skills, and equipment.
Team Rubicon’s mission is providing relief to those affected by disaster or crises, no matter when or where they strike. Honestly though, I ascribe to the phrase Disasters are our Mission, Veterans are Our Passion. A lot goes into the work we do, but taking care of fellow greyshirts is also super important.
The social context of where an operation takes place varies wildly depending on where we deploy. There are blue sky missions and grey sky missions.
Over time, they went to different disasters gaining new volunteers, skills, and equipment.
Team Rubicon’s mission is providing relief to those affected by disaster or crises, no matter when or where they strike. Honestly though, I ascribe to the phrase Disasters are our Mission, Veterans are Our Passion. A lot goes into the work we do, but taking care of fellow greyshirts is also super important.
The social context of where an operation takes place varies wildly depending on where we deploy. There are blue sky missions and grey sky missions.
- Grey Sky: Usually, when we go on an operation, it means a disaster has taken place and we are providing relief. In this case we are often working on the land, on houses, or in houses, post Hurricane, Flood, or Fire. Often the people we work with have lost everything they have. Sometimes that is not a lot to begin with. We are not disaster tourists and need to be respectful when interacting with what has been someone's life.
- Blue Sky: Occasionally, there is volunteer work we can do before or between major disasters to help our communities. The video below shows me and a fellow greyshirt throwing sticks into a wood chipper. This operation was reducing risk for a future wildfire to clear a defensible space around this cultural center on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Because there had not yet been a fire yet, this would be considered a Blue Skies operation.
How did I end up on Team Rubicon?
I was not specifically drawn to disaster relief, but I was drawn to Team Rubicon after leaving my military service. Information about the organization was included in a mass email from the VA during my transition and I signed up not really sure what it was. I could tell from their emails that they were engaged with other Veterans, but unlike a lot of groups that focused on helping Veterans it was giving an opportunity to Veterans to continue serving in a peacetime setting. I thought it was really cool, but I didn't really engage with the organization until Spring 2022.
Team Rubicon had messaged out updates since the fall of Kabul since a lot of modern Veterans had personal connections with people in Afghanistan that they had helped or worked with. It offered emotional support for Veterans and soon began asking for volunteers to help with the relocation and evacuation efforts. Although I served during the Global War on Terrorism, I did not have that personal connection Afghanistan that my colleagues who had deployed felt.
But the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 hit me hard. I was in Basic Combat Training when Russia annexed Crimea the first time and I remembered watching the TVs in the dining facility out of the corner of my eyes terrified that we would be going into war. Throughout my career I paid attention to Russia and I had training to familiarize me with the language. So when Ukraine was invaded again the week my Individual Ready Reserve expired (the list of former Soldiers who would be called to serve before any draft) I felt helpless. I knew that with my physical limitations I could not reenlist, but I wanted to help.
Team Rubicon was sending an international team to Poland to help the Ukrainians, but I knew I couldn't meet their requirements. What I could do, is I could help the Afghan Refugees who were relocating to Portland with Team Rubicon's help. So I did that for two days a week for 5 months. By the time Enduring Eagle (the Afghan resettlement program) wrapped up, I knew that Team Rubicon had been good for me. I worked hard on the team, but I also met wonderful Veterans and “kickass” civilians. We made a point to check in on each other's injuries as we worked building a camaraderie that I had not felt since I was in the military. Also they rewarded us with a good meal after we work hard together. The mission is to go out and help fight disasters, but the passion is for supporting the Veterans who jump in to help.
Team Rubicon had messaged out updates since the fall of Kabul since a lot of modern Veterans had personal connections with people in Afghanistan that they had helped or worked with. It offered emotional support for Veterans and soon began asking for volunteers to help with the relocation and evacuation efforts. Although I served during the Global War on Terrorism, I did not have that personal connection Afghanistan that my colleagues who had deployed felt.
But the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 hit me hard. I was in Basic Combat Training when Russia annexed Crimea the first time and I remembered watching the TVs in the dining facility out of the corner of my eyes terrified that we would be going into war. Throughout my career I paid attention to Russia and I had training to familiarize me with the language. So when Ukraine was invaded again the week my Individual Ready Reserve expired (the list of former Soldiers who would be called to serve before any draft) I felt helpless. I knew that with my physical limitations I could not reenlist, but I wanted to help.
Team Rubicon was sending an international team to Poland to help the Ukrainians, but I knew I couldn't meet their requirements. What I could do, is I could help the Afghan Refugees who were relocating to Portland with Team Rubicon's help. So I did that for two days a week for 5 months. By the time Enduring Eagle (the Afghan resettlement program) wrapped up, I knew that Team Rubicon had been good for me. I worked hard on the team, but I also met wonderful Veterans and “kickass” civilians. We made a point to check in on each other's injuries as we worked building a camaraderie that I had not felt since I was in the military. Also they rewarded us with a good meal after we work hard together. The mission is to go out and help fight disasters, but the passion is for supporting the Veterans who jump in to help.
What does being a Greyshirt entail?
Semper Gumby is a phrase used a lot in Team Rubicon. It means always flexible. Basically it means that the work we do at different operations or even the same operation, but different job sites can vary wildly. Sometimes it is as simple as stacking logs in a neat pile that a Sawyer has cut up. Sometimes it's using a little walkie talkie to send to tell the heavy equipment operator that they are about to back into a tree. The attached image was taken not on the person's actual property, but where we loaded it back onto the trailer. I did not drive the actual vehicle, but I was a spotter. Other times it involves some social intelligence and empathy when talking to homeowners about the disaster and what our capabilities are to help them. Essentially, you use the skills that you bring to the table to help problem solve.
|
Plan of Action and Goals
Over the course of the fall term I planned to go on multiple deployments to disaster zones. I wanted to be available to go to fly operations and throw myself fully into helping at these locations. I managed to get two 3 different operations that I helped in different ways.
Still, I think I really did manage to do a lot of what I wanted to get done.
- Medical Lake, WA had suffered from a devastating fire that burned many homes down to rubble.
- Live Oaks, FL was still recovering from Hurricane Idalia, which had torn a lot of massive trees out of their root systems. This was my first flight operation, so I got to see how Team Rubicon sends airplane tickets to greyshirts from other areas.
- Bonanza, OR had suffered from a fire at a high altitude that had rural homes and livelihoods completely destroyed.
Still, I think I really did manage to do a lot of what I wanted to get done.