A Jesuit monk, a Mormon medic and a Catholic film producer meet in an airport.
What follows isn't a punch line but a new model for relief efforts that saved countless lives in Haiti and Chile.
King George County medic Mark Hayward stumbled onto Team Rubicon, a grassroots, volunteer relief group, en route to Haiti in January.
A former medic for the U.S. Army Special Forces and a physician's assistant in the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown, Md., Hayward specializes in acting quickly.
He's not so good at sitting still.
Hayward lived in Haiti for three months last year, and when he saw footage of the earthquake, he knew he could help. He knew the infrastructure of Port-au-Prince, and he could treat injuries. But when he called aid groups, Hayward got the same answer: Just send money.
When Hayward talked to sources on the ground, however, he heard a different response: We need you desperately.
So he bought a ticket to fly into the Dominican Republic, where he planned to hitch rides to Haiti.
In a shuttle at Reagan National Airport, Hayward met a man with a similar plan. But Will McNulty also had letters from ambassadors and the U.S. Department of State.
"I decided he was not just some guy on a plane," Hayward said.
McNulty was an Alexandria resident, owner of a film production company and a member of a newly formed relief effort called Team Rubicon.
The group began shortly after the earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12. Jake Wood, a former Marine, saw the devastation and knew he could help.
"I put a post up on Facebook asking who wanted to go with me," Wood said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.
Within moments, some friends pledged money and some volunteered to go with Wood. He and three others decided to go to Haiti.
In airports, buses and in Port-au-Prince, they picked up other volunteers along the way. The team grew to include doctors, firefighters, EMTs and a Jesuit monk. They also added a group of brain surgeons from Oregon.
"If it were a work of fiction, no one would believe it," Hayward said.
The group's vision was clear: To get in fast, provide triage support and get out when the traditional relief groups arrived.
Many of the members are former military, and they liken Team Rubicon to an advance party in a war.
They went to Haiti in two teams and treated a variety of injuries. Team members even helped deliver a baby.
The team arrived in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 17 and almost immediately started seeing patients. The next day, they treated nearly 300 people.
Over the next 10 days, the team treated people who had not received medical care since the earthquake. They left once other relief efforts were more stable in Haiti.
"We left Haiti convinced that we had stumbled onto some techniques of disaster response that no one had tried before," he said. "We thought, 'This worked, and it might work elsewhere.'"
And then an earthquake hit Chile. Team Rubicon mobilized again.
Hayward landed in Chile and found a much different scenario from Haiti. The destruction was not as severe, and local relief efforts had the situation in hand.
But the Chilean health department officials expressed concern over the coastal villages. Bridges had been washed out, and communication was spotty.
Hayward and the team crossed bridges better suited for Indiana Jones flicks than real-life relief work. And they made their way to the rural villages where many waited for medical treatment.
"Haiti was such a mess, you could've shown up with a box of Band-Aids and make a difference," Hayward said. "In Chile, we wondered if this would make a positive difference, and it did."
He hopes for a break between natural disasters but plans to travel to Haiti in April. Hayward will bring his 12-year-old son and visit the schools he helped create in refugee camps.
And Team Rubicon plans to roll out at the next disaster.
"We have our ear close to the ground, and we'd like it to be so that people are asking for Team Rubicon, that we get that reputation," Wood said.
NAME: Mark Hayward
JOB: Emergency physician's assistant at St. Mary's Hospital, Leonardtown, Md. RESIDENCE: King George CountyFAMILY: Wife, Cammie; children: Corwin, 12, and Peregrine, 10
Team Rubicon is taking donations and volunteers to gear up for its next emergency. To volunteer, fill out an application at teamrubiconusa.org. To donate online, visit teamrubicon usa.org/donate or mail checks to: Team Rubicon, 375 S. Third St., No. 327, Burbank, Calif. 91502.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?The Rubicon was a stream separating Gaul and ancient Rome. Generals were forbidden from crossing it with an army. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, it marked the point of no return. "Crossing the Rubicon" refers to a group committing itself to a risky or revolutionary course of action.
Team Rubicon is taking donations and volunteers to gear up for its next emergency. To volunteer, fill out an application at teamrubiconusa.org. To donate online, visit teamrubicon usa.org/donate or mail checks to: Team Rubicon, 375 S. Third St., No. 327, Burbank, Calif. 91502
The Rubicon was a stream separating Gaul and ancient Rome. Generals were forbidden from crossing the Rubicon with an army. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, it marked the point of no return. The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" now refers to any group committing itself to a risky or revolutionary course of action.