Team Rubicon - Anyone Know this Organization?

Ruined Adventures

Brenton Cooper
Over the past few months we've been fortunate to go on two TR deployments: storm relief in Augusta, GA and tornado relief for the current operation in Louisville, MS.

After leaving the fire service to travel and then after two years of travel I was starting to feel a little lost. People don't often talk about post-travel depression but it's very real and sometimes it's hard to come back to the normal grind and find your purpose back home. I'm not comparing these feelings to the feelings that Veterans have after returning from a military deployment (being a civilian I can't even pretend to understand those emotions). I have listened to a lot of my TR brothers and sisters (mostly veterans or retired first responders) talk about their experiences, ongoing battles with PTSD, and more importantly the purpose and cameraderie that they were searching for. Several of them tell me that TR saved their lives. The TR members I have worked with feel like family and have given me something I have been searching for ever since I left the fire service.

Team Rubicon is not only great because of what it does for communities affected by a disaster, but also our US military veterans and first responders who are searching for something bigger. Witnessing members who are fighting the battle with PTSD and trying to rediscover themselves stateside, go out and excel at something like this is powerful to see. For a homeowner who has lost everything, to have a veteran come to their home from another state and show that they care is priceless. The amount of love you experience on a TR deployment is heavy and almost overwhelming. I almost get emotional when I think about the people I've met and experiences I've had on a TR deployment.

If you guys have any questions about TR feel free to ask here. Also, I should mention that even if you have no military or 1st responder background, TR is quickly growing and has many uses for civilians within its ranks (heavy equipment operators, PR, marketing, admin, and IT). Even if you don't have time to go on a deployment there are many ways to assist from the comfort of your own home. Whether it's providing technical support, organizing volunteers, providing training or building relationships with other organizations. Of course, if you don't want to make any commitments you can make a donation on Team Rubicon's website too. Show them some love on Social Media and see some of the awesomeness the teams have been up to. Currently there are three operations going on in Mississippi, Arkansas and Kansas and there is more to come with this hurricane season.
 

jdlobb

Adventurer
Just found this thread. Finished my initial training and background check for TR today. I've been familiar with this organization for a long time, I used to work for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a very close partner.

Looking forward to the opportunity to deploy, and put my skills back to use. I was an Air Force firefighter for 7 years, so I have a combination of both military and emergency services experience that I'm looking to bring to the table. In the civilian world I'm a project management professional and have an MS in Nonprofit Management, so I'm also hoping those can be of use.
 

jimi breeze

jimi breeze
I guess I'm not too surprised of the interest in TR on this forum. I've been involved with TR for two years now and have steadily progressed with responsibilities. I'm currently the Planning Manager in Region III.
Big things on the horizon for Team Rubicon. If your interested in joining you don't have to be a VET, first responder, of medical professional. Just sign up and get the initial ICS course work done.
 

bluehash

Adventurer
I just registered and taking their training modules now. I was pf the opinion that only vets could apply until Jimi's reply above.
 

FortyTwo

Observer
If anyone is interested, there's a blog I follow, PackConfig, that's been doing a great multipart series on the Team this past week. It's been very cool to find out more about this organization.

http://www.packconfig.com/post/91748612865/team-rubicon-week-part-01-following-the-launch

In the interest of an ever shrinking world, those are my photos (and pack). The top photo is from our first morning on the ground in Tacloban, PI after we had arrived in the dark of night. The the pack shot is while we were sitting on the tarmac waiting to go home.

Pack Config is a really cool blog to follow, its on my regular rotation now!

-Chris
 

jdlobb

Adventurer
In the interest of an ever shrinking world, those are my photos (and pack). The top photo is from our first morning on the ground in Tacloban, PI after we had arrived in the dark of night. The the pack shot is while we were sitting on the tarmac waiting to go home.

Pack Config is a really cool blog to follow, its on my regular rotation now!

-Chris

proof that there's a blog for everything.
 

crismateski

American Adventurist
I just finished my first deployment with them on Operation Backbone in Mt Baldy Ca. Great experience, very professional and incredibly organised.
 

HOOLIGAN

The 4x4 Podcast
Just stumbled upon this thread. I was a regional director for TR. Just happened to be for your region, FortyTwo (in fact I probably vetted you just before I left). Although I'm no longer affiliated with them, I highly encourage folks to get involved. I enjoyed my time with them and it was incredibly rewarding. The amount of work they get accomplished is nothing short of a miracle. They are well organized and can managed to get a group of people that have met for the first time, working like a well oiled machine (that's what you get when working with vets). If you can't help physically, donations are always helpful.
 
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FortyTwo

Observer
Just stumbled upon this thread. I was a regional director for TR. Just happened to be for your region, FortyTwo (in fact I probably vetted you just before I left). Although I'm no longer affiliated with them, I highly encourage folks to get involved. I enjoyed my time with them and it was incredibly rewarding. The amount of work they get accomplished is nothing short of a miracle. They are well organized and can managed to get a group of people that have met for the first time, working like a well oiled machine (that's what you get when working with vets). If you can't help physically, donations are always helpful.

Hey, man! I remember - I pretty sure I parked in front of you at an event in KC. And we might be connected on G+. I was pretty quiet during the time you were in the director position, work was busy and I was on the other side of MO. Anyway, good to hear from you!
 

Pacific Northwest yetti

Expedition Medic
I am a TR member, Eastern oregon, region 10. Great group, Great resource, highly trained and respected in the disaster relief world. TR takes those with a military background, or emergency services and deploys them for disaster relief. I see this is an old thread, TR has grown immensely in the past few years, but they do great work.
 

FortyTwo

Observer
I am a TR member, Eastern oregon, region 10. Great group, Great resource, highly trained and respected in the disaster relief world. TR takes those with a military background, or emergency services and deploys them for disaster relief. I see this is an old thread, TR has grown immensely in the past few years, but they do great work.

Glad to have you on board!

For anyone else interested, joining TR does not require military or EMS experience. Anyone can join this rapidly growing disaster response force!
 

Sark9kev

Member
I've been in USAR and wilderness SAR, as well as disaster response almost all of my career. I've never actually seen them. I've deployed several times to large incidents. I've heard a few good things, but mostly negative. The few I've interacted with have been enough to blacklist the entire team. When someone with no actual training wants to argue and pick fights over stupid stuff, it ruins it for everybody, and command staff remembers forever. I'm sure they have some good people though. If you ever want to do more, like in a paid capacity, I wouldn't put it on the resume.
 

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