31 August, 2017
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska-The Alaska Air National Guard is stepping up to assist with Hurricane Harvey humanitarian disaster relief operations. The National Weather Service said major flood conditions are expected to impact some 49 rivers in coastal Texas. Before the response ends, he added, Guard troops from dozens of other states could be involved in an area stretching from Corpus Christi to Houston and areas inland that have been hit by disastrous flooding.
"The men and women of the Texas National Guard are working around the clock to support all relief efforts from Hurricane Harvey", said Maj.
Meanwhile, neighboring Louisiana is bracing for the rains from what is now Tropical Storm Harvey.
"FEMA was here before the storm hit, and we will be here as long as needed, actively coordinating the full resources of the federal government, to support Gov. Abbott and the state", said FEMA Administrator Brock Long.
However, the Michigan National Guard suggested that the 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment out of Belmont would deploy about 350 soldiers from Cadillac, Detroit, Dowagiac and Wyoming for about 60 days. Gen. Don Dunbar, Wisconsin's adjutant general in the release. The Soldiers are trained and equipped to conduct aeromedical evacuation and hoist rescue missions.
The National Guard has a unique dual-mission as the nation's first military responder in times of emergency, while simultaneously fulfilling its role as the primary combat reserve of the Army and Air Force.
