By Shannon McFarlin News Director
“As a husband and father, I could not sit idly by and listen to story after story of children stranded in a war zone,” Frank Tate of Clarksville said over the weekend. “I had the opportunity to take action, and I acted on it. We are boots on the ground in Ukraine, and it is humbling to be part of such an extraordinary team.”
After posting that message on Facebook last week from Ukraine, Tate arrived back home in Clarksville Sunday. He had been serving with Aerial Recovery Group, helping with the evacuation of orphanages and foster facilities near and around Kyiv. The Aerial Recovery Group (ARG) is a Nashville-based Economic Development and Disaster Management firm.
He took a few moments Sunday to tell RadioNWTN of the work he and other members of ARG had been doing in war-torn Ukraine.
Tate has a military background and lengthy experience in economic development, including as the former Economic Development Director in McKenzie. He currently is the Director of Business Development for RWF Construction Group.
He has been affiliated through Awaken Church with ARG for about six months.
“Our Number 1 goal is to save lives and facilitate the redevelopment of nations to be even more prosperous after a disaster,” Tate said. “While our mission in Ukraine has been transporting and evacuating orphans, we still maintain a strategic preparation plan and are now working to keep Ukrainians effective in the fight.
In December, ARG also responded to the Tornadoes in West Kentucky and Tennessee and have completed work in Haiti after the earthquakes, Tate said.
In Ukraine, ARG has also set up aide facilities to help with aide supply routes.
Tate explained, “After serving in the US Navy for ten years and falling into Economic Development, this organization could not have been a better fit. Day in and day out in my profession, I educated leaders in industry and government on the importance of community and its correlation to its people. To see a community shattered so profoundly spoke to me, deeply.
“The way Ukrainians united together to protect each other and the land they love is something we can all take a lesson from, and I feel it was a reverberation of how I feel for America. Importantly as an American Patriot and Professional, I felt compelled to act,” Tate said.
A week and a half ago as the crisis in Ukraine was in its early stages, Tate received a text asking him how he would like to help. At that time, he said, “I suggested that I do any logistics or administrative work needed stateside.”
The next day, he said, “I received a call asking to fly out Monday to be the advance party. We arrived boots on the ground, me and one other professional Monday evening, and went to work. We coordinated locations in Ukraine to help in aid support, purchased goods, and started working on extraction plans for orphans. I returned home Sunday morning (March 6) and have been working on supply aide needs ever since.”
Tate said, “The Aerial Recovery Group team has made a significant impact as every stage of the crisis unfolds, and I am humbled to have the opportunity to help.”
What can people do to help with the growing crisis in Ukraine?
Donations for supplies are needed for everything from toiletries to first aid kits to protective gear, Tate said.
The following is a link to the Aerial Recovery Group with more information: https://www.aerialrecoverygroup.com/