Subject: ALERT Update | June 4, 2024

June 4, 2024


Last Friday Unit 69 graduated from ALERT, and we closed out the spring semester. I wanted to share a quick recap of everything that happened here in the past five months. We had a very large 2nd Phase this winter with 44 students, as well as a full L&C class with 8 students. We also used a new location for 2nd Phase dive training this year, diving in and around Panama City, FL instead of Miami. Another significant event was the 30 Year ALERT Reunion in February. The reunion saw a huge turnout of alumni and their families, as well as other friends of ALERT. We celebrated 30 years of forging men in full ALERT style for a long weekend, and finished encouraged and rather beat up physically (gator ball will do that to you). In the spring quarter, we ran four 3rd Phase classes—EMT, Diving, Missions, and Construction—as well as Basic Training Cadre.

Notable deployments from the last semester include:

  • Service with a humanitarian aid organization in Northern Iraq

  • Helping build a school in Kenai, Alaska

  • Disaster relief with Samaritan’s Purse in Slidell, LA following a tornado that caused severe damage to homes and properties

  • Significant repair work on a widow’s home in Longview

  • Assisting Smith County Sherriff’s Office with a search for crime-scene evidence and human remains

  • Helping underserved residents of Smith County, TX with recovery work after a severe thunderstorm at the request of the Smith County Office of Emergency Management

For the men in the Battalion, this quarter has had many joys and many challenges. But as I look back at each situation, I am grateful for God’s grace to walk through it, and for the work He has done in the lives of the students and leadership this year. Thank you for all your prayers and support this semester, and please keep all of us in prayer as we work towards next semester starting at the end of the month. 

Captain Phillip Vanderford | Unit 41

ALERT Battalion Commanding Officer

Prayer Requests

  • Continued consistency and faithfulness for the students and leaders back home

  • Pray the graduates to have intentionality in their choices and pursuits

  • Pray for rest and rejuvenation for the ALERT staff and officers

Upcoming Events

  • June 29 – Summer training quarter starts

  • July 8 – Quest starts

  • August 29 – Fall training quarter starts

International ALERT Academy, 1 Academy Blvd, Big Sandy, TX 75755, United States

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