Raytheon employee Hector Valladares-Rivera was 8,000 miles from home when Hurricane Rita pushed ashore near Lake Charles, La., where his wife Alexandra and 16-year-old son Daniel were living.

Hector is a Patriot systems instructor at the Air Defense Forces Institute in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. While Skip Garrett, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) vice president of International Integrated Air Defense, and Otis Hopkins, director of Operations for Saudi Arabian Programs, were moving quickly to help Hector get home to his wife and son, Alexandra was able to call on Raytheon International Support Company (RISCO) to coordinate the effort to bring her immediate assistance.

While their home had little damage, Alexandra and Daniel were without power and running water, and found themselves standing in line for four hours at a time to receive water and meals ready to eat. IDS Human Resources Generalist Doug Ellis acted quickly to coordinate assistance, contacting Bob Hayden of IDS' Mission Ownership Analysis and Support Directorate, which has a team at Red River Army Depot in Texas. Leo Ronan from Raytheon Technical Services Company and Tom Doll from IDS — who both previously worked in Saudi Arabia — volunteered to drive four hours from Red River to Leesville, La., to bring supplies that included ice, food, fuel and water.

After calling RISCO for assistance, Alexandra and Daniel received their supplies before noon the next day, demonstrating Raytheon's commitment to ensuring the safety of its employees and their families.

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