“I think they’re probably dead.”
Those were the words that former Green Beret Adam Smith said to his fiancée on September 28 about his 3-year-old daughter Tove and her mother. Their North Carolina house was a mere 40 yards from a raging river, swollen well past flood stage by Hurricane Helene. No one had heard from them since Thursday night, and it was now Saturday.
Even so, Smith knew he had to try to rescue them, linking up with a friend of a friend who owned a helicopter. He was on the bird for the rescue.
“The greatest joy of my life was right there when we landed,” said Smith, founder and CEO of a tactical training company called Savage Freedoms. “My daughter came running around barefoot, skipping and spinning in this grass field, and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my entire life.”
From that rescue came a realization for Smith: it wasn’t enough to rescue just Tove and her mother. There were still so many people in need — and Smith had the skills to help. So Savage Freedoms Relief Operations, or Savage Ops, was born in the parking lot of a Harley Davidson in Swannanoa, focusing on delivering relief supplies, rebuilding infrastructure, clearing access for vehicles, providing logistical support and offering hope to hurricane-ravaged residents. By day 10 of Savage Ops’ existence, around 120 men had joined him thanks to word of mouth, nearly all of them former special operators.
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“Green Berets, Navy SEALS, pararescue, MARSOC guys from national strategic assets who took the lead — we had everybody,” said Smith, who estimates that his team worked nearly 29,000 man hours in its first two weeks. “By day 10, we had close to a million pounds of supplies on the ground.”
Former Army Ranger Justin Neal is now a member of what residents began calling “the redneck air force.” He and approximately 40 other former Rangers headed into western North Carolina after Helene hit, wanting to help. Someone called Neal, asking if he had heard of the operation at the Harley Davidson. He hadn’t but was intrigued.
“Ask for a guy named Adam,” his source told him. So he did, and within five minutes, Neal was all in.
“None of us care about the glorification; we’re just here to help,” said Neal, a soldier from 2012-2017. “I had intended on being there for three days, but my first stint I spent 10 days. I just couldn’t leave.”
Neal, Smith and others witnessed devastation on an unexplainable scale everywhere they looked. Smith labeled it “the worst destruction I’ve ever seen in my life, even compared to a warzone.” People often saw Savage Ops’ shirts and didn’t even introduce themselves — they just started crying and hugging the team members in gratitude.
“We operate from sunup to sundown every single day,” Smith said, who plans on remaining in western North Carolina for the foreseeable future. “The ops are still doing road and yard cleanups, mucking out houses, building construction projects, sourcing hay and feed for livestock and raising money to pay contractors so they can get back to business.”
Their efforts attracted the attention of former President Donald Trump, who met with Smith on October 21 at a Swannanoa auto repair shop. But far more important is the sense of usefulness and unity that Savage Ops has provided its members, including Neal.
“I hadn’t felt this purpose since Afghanistan,” he said. “I feel more purpose in Savage Freedoms that I have felt in my entire life, my military career included.”
Their purpose now, Smith said, is to restore North Carolina to its former glory. To do so will take grit, sweat and money — but Savage Ops is committed.
“We can’t let western North Carolina be forgotten,” Smith said. “And we won’t.”
Visit www.savagefreedoms.com/savageops to donate to Savage Ops’ Helene efforts.
