The Air Land Emergency Resource Team (ALERT) began in 1994 as the vision of a home school father. He recognized that many young men lacked not only a sense of purpose and direction, but also the attitude of servant-hood that Jesus Christ had commanded His disciples to maintain. This father also observed that government entities were often taxed beyond their limits when significant natural disasters struck, or when other large-scale needs presented themselves.The concept of ALERT involves training which integrates a young man’s natural desire for adventure with developing an attitude of Christ-like service. Concurrent opportunities allow students to put their training into action, by making well-organized teams available to respond at the request of government officials in the event of natural or man-made disasters.The ultimate purpose of ALERT training is twofold: First, we provide a platform whereby Christian young men can rapidly mature, develop a Christian service mindset, and learn practical life skills. Second, we supply teams of trained, eager men to serve those in need in times of disaster and crisis. As both of these goals are realized, Jesus Christ is honored and doors for the gospel are opened.
ALERT began twenty years ago as the vision of one man. This father saw the need for a program that would challenge young men to pursue a life of service in Christ’s name, would appeal to their desire for adventure, and would provide professional training toward an occupation. Since its inception in 1994, ALERT has since trained almost two thousand young men. Significant service deployments in our history include the Oklahoma City bombing, the space shuttle Columbia recovery, and such storms as hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike. In all, ALERT has responded to over 700 calls for service.
Formerly based out of a small town in the upper peninsula of Michigan, ALERT moved to its new campus in Big Sandy, Texas in 2000. The program has consistently welcomed roughly one hundred men per year, divided into two annual Basic Training units that begin every spring and fall. ALERT’s leadership structure is modeled after the U.S. military; our students have the opportunity to ascend through ranks such as Specialist, Corporal and beyond, while being instructed and mentored by captains and lieutenants. This provides a basis for developing discipline and teamwork, while giving the men a clear understanding of their roles and their responsibilities.
When the program was founded, ALERT men were required to complete 68 weeks of training in order to graduate; the curriculum has since been shortened to 50 weeks, while continuing to work in three phases as before – Basic Training, Emergency Response Training, and Advanced Training. Originally ALERT self-certified many of its Advanced Training options, but now offers state- and nationally-recognized certifications.
Our 2250-acre campus in eastern Texas is truly a gift from God. We are located about two hours east of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and a short twenty minute drive from both Longview and Tyler. Our campus is utilized not only for the training of ALERT men, but also for STEP, a young woman’s camp for emergency preparedness, and Quest, a young man’s camp to encourage and facilitate the transition into manhood. In addition, we host two major annual events: a regionalhome school conference in April and Family Camp in October. The campus is also available to the public as a site for camps, retreats, meetings and activities for churches, government organizations and civic groups.
The features of our campus include the following: dormitories, 650-seat dining hall, classrooms, chapel, 340-seat auditorium, convention hall (7,000-seat capacity), airstrip, aircraft hangar, campground, lake, canoes, 400-meter track, rappelling/climbing tower, obstacle course, low ropes course, 3-court indoor gymnas
ium, 3 baseball diamonds, soccer field, 4 sand volleyball courts, 2 tennis courts, racquetball court, 2 weight rooms, wooded trails.
April 21, 2016
News, Workshops