The Hope Mills Special Operations Team was organized in 1993 to respond to water related emergencies and underwater search and recovery within the town of Hope Mills.
As the teams’ reputation for excellence grew, requests came in from all over state for the team’s expertise; which allowed them to work with Federal, State, and local agencies such as FEMA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), North Carolina Crime Control and Public Safety as well as the states emergency management division.
The team’s skill sets increased as a result of contact with these agencies and expanded to now include Man-Tracking (lost person and hostile quarry), Swiftwater Rescue, Demolitions and Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue (TLAER).
The team has received many awards and certificates of appreciation, but holds none in higher regard than the coveted Higgins and Langley Award for Swiftwater Rescue Excellence. In 2004, team members were recognized for their actions in the mountains of North Carolina. Due to Hurricane Ivan, torrential rains caused flooding and mudslides that affected the western region of the state. Responding to a request from the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management’s Western Branch Office; the Hope Mills Special Operations Team deployed to the area during the height of the storm and arrived just as the side of a mountain gave way. After a 7.5 hour drive and having to take several detours, our swimmers went into action immediately and rescued 6 people (either elderly or invalid) from inside their dark and flooding homes during the early morning hours. All team personnel who responded on that terrible night were awarded this prestigious honor. We are proud to have been able to serve our fellow North Carolinians and to have been one team among several to be recognized for this accomplishment.