Guard Supports Joint Response, Thousands Deploy

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By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 27, 2011 – National Guard support to the joint response
to Hurricane Irene was in full motion today as thousands of soldiers and airmen
rolled out in multiple states to support civilian authorities.

Army Sgt. Matt Ryan and Army Staff Sgt. Will Phillips, both medics from the 224th Area Support Medical Company, Maryland National Guard, assist local firefighters as they exit a house fire in Salisbury, Md., Aug. 27, 2011. Local first responders were called to a house fire after a tree downed by Hurricane Irene caused power lines to arc electricity through a surge protector inside the home. Residents were home and were able to exit the house to safety. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Darron Salzer  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Guard
officials at the National Guard Coordination Center here were tracking the storm
and working with other federal agencies, states, territories and the District of
Columbia around the clock as about 4,450 Guard members in 13 states supported
the response — with more citizen-soldiers and –airmen on the way.

 

The National Guard Bureau is coordinating closely with state and federal
agencies — including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Northern
Command — to provide timely, potentially lifesaving hurricane relief, Guard
officials said.

More than 400,000 Guard members are available in more than 3,300 communities
nationwide, including about 101,000 in the affected states.

States as far and safe from the storm as Alaska, Illinois, Louisiana and New
Mexico contributed National Guard assets to the response. Alaska sent its
storied “Guardian Angels” with helicopters for potential search and rescue
missions; helicopters and troops were en route from Illinois for potential
support to New York, where the governor mobilized about 2,000 of his own troops;
and Louisiana contributed helicopters and troops to a response package staging
to assist where needed.

The National Guard has the size, skills, training, experience, command and
communications infrastructure and legal flexibility to support civil authorities
at a moment’s notice, Guard officials said.

Directly affected states — either because they already were being impacted
by the storm or were in its forecast path — include Connecticut, Delaware,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and
Virginia. The District of Columbia also was affected.

To avoid damage, the Air National Guard repositioned aircraft in numerous
states as a precautionary measure days in advance of the storm.

Meanwhile, the Virginia National Guard reported that the National Guard
Bureau is spearheading an effort to stage forces in Virginia that would enable
them to rapidly respond in the event they are needed for recovery operations in
the wake of Hurricane Irene.

The personnel and equipment will be prepositioned in Virginia, and then could
be deployed in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey or Washington, D.C.,
through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact system if needed. As the
severe weather continues past Virginia, the forces then could be available for
duty in states to the north.

An advance party from the South Carolina National Guard began movement today
to the Virginia National Guard’s Aviation Support Facility in Sandston where
they will assist in positioning aviation equipment. A task force with a variety
of different aviation capabilities is ready to support when called to begin air
movement tomorrow after the storm passes and will stage in Sandston.

The Tennessee National Guard has troops alerted and could begin movement
tomorrow. If they come to Virginia, they would assemble at the Virginia National
Guard’s Maneuver Training Center at Fort Pickett and be available for duty
throughout the region.

“We currently have enough Virginia National Guard personnel and equipment
staged to meet the anticipated needs of recovery operations from Hurricane
Irene,” said Army Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long Jr., adjutant general. “In the event
that additional resources are needed in Virginia or elsewhere along the East
Coast, positioning these forces in Virginia enables the National Guard to
respond more rapidly to provide assistance.”

(Cotton Puryear of the Virginia National Guard contributed to this
article.)

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