Air Force veteran claims the truth about rescue operations in North Carolina is being covered up

The video contains media obtained from Air Force veteran Jonathan Howard

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on October 3rd but was updated with more information on October 4th.

An Air Force special operations veteran, who currently serves in the National Guard, has come forward to claim what is being reported about the US government’s response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, is not true.

Jonathan Howard says that he volunteered to go to North Carolina to aid air rescue operations before being activated as a member of the Florida State Guard.

“I am just so mad at the lack of Government support and I need people to hear how desperate this situation is,” he wrote.

“It’s like our Government wants these people to die. They’re so incompetent, disorganized and dishonest it’s disgusting.”

Howard says he saw news reports of an 11-day-old baby being saved by a Florida National Guard, which is completely false, according to him.

He says the rescue was conducted by him and two others using one of their privately owned helicopters from Wilmington, NC.

“Without that civilian, that baby would be dead,” he said.

During his rescue operations, he claims he sees around forty civilian helicopters but might only see two US military Black Hawk helicopters.

“No one is out here doing rescues,” he said.

He and his team are urgently requesting helicopters because he says it the only way to reach people still in distress. He says it is impossible to reach victims in the mountains by ground and helicopters are the only solution.

“I am literally flying around in a civilian helicopter looking for SOS messages written in the mud,” he said.

After speaking with his Congresswoman in Florida, he’s expecting two Black Hawks to arrive on Thursday.

He also claims there is a coverup going on and it is being aided by a local Sheriff’s department.

When CNN came to report on the devastation, Howard says the Sheriff’s department would not allow them to “go to the bad areas.”

“I don’t know why they don’t want to show you all that, but it is bad,” he says.

Despite not seeing any air assets, he says there are plenty of law enforcement, State Guard, and National Guard troops on the ground but they have no way to reach victims.

On Tuesday, while refueling the civilian helicopter they have been using he encountered two Air Force helicopters.

Being a former Air Force Combat Controller, he noticed the Airmen with the helicopters were Air Force Special Warfare Pararescue “PJs” and asked them why they were just sitting there.

He claims they said they did not have authorization to conduct any operations and were still waiting on Title 10 orders.

Title 10 orders are issued under the authority of the president and authorize service members to be called to active federal service.

“There are military helicopters all over here, sitting on the ground and they can’t do nothing,” Howard says.

At least 215 people are known to have died as a result of the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, according to NBC News.

NBC reports more than half of those deaths occurred in North Carolina.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he authorized active-duty soldiers to deploy to aid the recovery efforts, while in Raleigh on Wednesday.

“I’m directing the Department of Defense to move up 1,000 soldiers to reinforce North Carolina’s National Guard because they need additional assistance,” President Joe Biden said while in Raleigh on Wednesday. “They are going to speed up the delivery of lifesaving supplies, like food, water, and medicine, to isolated communities for what the Pentagon calls the last tackle mile.”

While the active duty soldiers were authorized to deploy by the President, according to local CBS news, they have not left Fort Liberty because the state of North Carolina has not requested the support.

However, the Army is sending seven heavy-lift helicopters to Asheville, where Joshua Howard is, to assist.

The Salty Soldier reached out to the National Guard for comment and is awaiting a response.

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