Aerial Recovery, a veteran-run organization, has arrived in Florida to assist with Hurricane Milton recovery efforts. Jeremy Locke joined FOX Weather to talk about their latest mission in a segment sponsored by Tunnel to Towers.
TAMPA – A small veteran-led nonprofit continues to respond to hurricanes Milton and Helene, rescuing families from flooding when there was no one else to call and helping communities recover.
U.S. Army Veteran Jeremy Locke co-founded Aerial Recovery to help veterans utilize their unique skills to help communities in need, while also helping veterans and former first responders find a new purpose.
Last week, an Aerial Recovery team conducted search and rescue in the Tampa and Sarasota areas when Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm with 125-mph winds.
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Locke said that as a nonprofit, the group has more flexibility to respond to the most extreme conditions, even during a hurricane. The group rescued seven people, including a pregnant woman and a 2-year-old child.
“We decided to go out and help these people because nobody else was coming for them,” Locke said.
Locke, a former U.S. Army Green Beret special operator, explained veterans have trouble finding a sense of purpose after military life.
Scene from a water rescue conducted by Aerial Recovery during Hurricane Milton in the Tampa area on Oct. 9, 2024
(Aerial Recovery)
“I know everybody knows a veteran that’s struggling with something when they get out of that service or they go into that transition period,” Locke said. “So when we actually get to go out and utilize our skills to go help people after natural disasters or anti-human trafficking, this actually really helps us to be a service for others. So it’s our pleasure to go out there and use our unique skill sets to go in these very dangerous situations and just go help people in their greatest time of need.”
After Hurricane Helene caused deadly flooding, claiming hundreds of lives across the Southeast, Aerial Recovery deployed a team to North Carolina. Locke said when the forecast showed Milton making landfall in Southwest Florida, they divided their team to respond to both storms.
“We are designed pretty much for a kind of one disaster at a time, but Hurricane Helene, it was huge. I mean, that’s a once-in-a-century sort of storm that came through affecting multiple states,” Locke said. “When we watched Milton come in, we knew we had to deploy out there.”
Locke said they are in need of more people with unique skills who want to help others.
“If you are a veteran or a first responder, and you’re struggling a little bit, go to aerialrecovery.org, learn about us, sign yourself up or sign somebody you know up. Please get on our team. Let’s go out there and let’s help some people together.”