T.J. Hermesman, former marine and field operations deputy for Region VIII of Team Rubicon USA, returned to his home in Durango on Sunday after he conducted volunteer disaster-response operations in Houston and Puerto Rico, in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Maria.
Hermesman, the son of Ted Hermesman of Ted’s Rentals and Sales at 999 College Drive, was born and raised in Durango and attended Needham Elementary School, Miller Middle School and Durango High School, where he graduated in 2006.
After high school, he served four years in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed in Afghanistan for a year. He left active duty in 2010 and joined Team Rubicon a year ago to participate in “Project Burnt Tree” in Fort Collins, where he was part of a team of volunteers that helped with recovery operations during the aftermath of the High Park Fire in Larimer County.
Team Rubicon is an international nonprofit disaster-response organization equipped with military veterans who act as first responders to deploy emergency teams, free of charge, to communities affected by disasters, and is currently stacked with more than 65,000 volunteers, 75 to 80 percent of them veterans, who can deploy globally at any given time. The name of the game is “response” rather than “relief,” a common misconception. Hermesman mostly conducts organization operations in Colorado, such as preventive fire mitigation, post-fire cleanup, safety measures during the aftermath of fires, etc.
Hermesman went to Houston Sept. 23-30 to join 450 volunteers from Team Rubicon, 80 of them with Region VIII, for “Operation Hard Hustle,” the largest operation the organization has put together.
“Region VIII is, by far, the most active part of the organization,” Hermesman said.
They received work orders for the day each morning, and conducted “muck-outs,” removed drywall, insulation and mold, and ensured the recovery process went smoothly. Volunteers gave as much free service as possible to places with no insurance coverage.
The totals from the Hurricane Harvey response included 1,683 volunteers deployed and $2.33 million estimated volunteer labor.
Hermesman then left for Puerto Rico on Oct. 20, and conducted volunteer work through Nov. 5.
“There wasn’t a square inch of that island that wasn’t hit by that hurricane,” he said. “They had no running water, no waste management, no equipment to clean up the area.”
Volunteers in Hermesman’s group started on the western coast of the island near Isa Bella. Medical crews set up clinics in smaller communities, while other crews conducted sawyer, or chain saw, operations to clear a canal, that had become clogged with trees and other debris, to provide fresh water to the west side of the island. They had no heavy equipment or machinery; it was all manpower.
He then moved onto a town called San Sebastian, where the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration had registration stations set up. About 1,000 people received medical treatment by volunteer crews of 20 to 30 people. After the project came to a close, Hermesman returned to Durango.
“Coming back to the luxuries of American life is always pretty crazy,” he said.
When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon at the head of his legions and marched to Rome, it marked a point of no return. The phrase “crossing the Rubicon” has since survived in reference to any group that commits itself to a risky course of action for the benefit of people in need, in this case. The organization has been committed to the idea of selfless rapid response since its origin.
For more information about Operation Hard Hustle, visit www.teamrubicon.smugmug.com/HH.
For more information about Team Rubicon, visit www.teamrubiconglobal.org.
fstone@durangoherald.com
