Search and rescue efforts continue in Southeast Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and a native East Tennessean is pitching in to help.
Sam Stoess is a Knoxville native and U.S. Navy helicopter pilot. He graduated from Webb School of Knoxville and received his "wings" last November.
Stoess is part of the Dusty Dogs in the Navy and was deployed to Texas to help with the mess Harvey left behind.
His parents, Mary Cartwright and Bill Stoess, have been texting with him since he was out there and got a glimpse of the work he is doing when he took an NBC news crew up in the helicopter as a part of a search and rescue mission.
"He's prepared, "Cartwright said. "He's ready. He was so jacked when he called Friday night and said he was going to be deployed."
Former Air Force broadcaster and public affairs specialist Bill Conner said that attitude is a shift in mindset from what he saw as he served through Hurricane Katrina.
"It's not a matter of, 'Oh are we going to get called?'" Conner said. "It's 'We're ready to go. When do you need me? Where do I need to show up?'"
Conner served in the Air Force and Air National Guard in Texas, working through Hurricane Katrina, Rita, Dolly, Gustav and Ike.
He said the military response to Hurricane Katrina helped set the mold for how the military handles future natural disasters.
"You learn this strategic chess match," Conner said. "Just as this storm gets out of the way, you can go in behind it just as soon as possible and start taking care of people, so that was a huge lesson that was learned."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mobilized the entire Texas National Guard, bringing the number of deployed state troops up to roughly 12,000.
Conner said the military will typically be in search and rescue mode first and then shift to a support role, providing whatever response is needed in the community they are serving at the time.
"One of the things our leaders were very big on was making sure people knew that we were going to be there as long as we were needed," Conner added.
More than 18,000 people have been rescued from the flood waters of Southeast Texas so far, and Mary Cartwright and Bill Stoess said they are proud parents of the work their son is doing to save lives.
"He'll do whatever's needed," Cartwright said. "This is what they train for. He is so, so happy to be there."