PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The first teams of national guardsmen have been dispatched in preparation for severe flooding in Virginia.
The 2nd of the 183rd Cav, based here, dispatched two Light Medium Tactical Vehicle, or LMTVs, to Gloucester, which sits on the York River roughly 45 miles away. The city is expecting severe flooding by 4 p.m.PM, with no signs of rain letting up for at least 24 hours.
"This is awesome for us," said Capt. Kevin Hoffman, squadron OIC. "We get to help out the people that we live with and work with every day, and get to give back to the community."
That work will include everything from removing debris to providing transport in flooded areas civilian vehicles cannot traverse. Medical emergencies are the priority.
The Gloucester team will remain on station for at least three days, Hoffman said. Every team that will be dispatched will have enough fuel, food, and water for the duration, but in his experience, community members are quick to take care of the citizen soldiers.
The soldiers were very happy they would not have to contend with Hurricane Joaquin.
"A hurricane is a whole different animal," said Hoffman, who lives on the Eastern shore. "A category for hurricane hitting this area would make a bad day for everybody."
The unit has another 56 soldiers on site and awaiting tasking. Hundreds more Army and Air Force guardsmen are positioned at readiness centers throughout the Hampton Roads area.
State leaders in Virginia also activated the heavy hitters when it comes to emergency response. Roughly two dozen members of the Air National Guard's 203rd Red Horse squadron were activated Thursday night. The team had no tasking's as of 5 p.m.PM Friday, but were not resting easy despite news that the hurricane was moving away from the coast. The area has been saturated with heavy rains, and more rain and heavy winds are forecast through Sunday night. As a result, trees are falling and power outages are taking place throughout the region.
Virginia National Guard
Photo Credit: Lance M. Bacon/Staff
These airman comprise an engineer mobility strike team, capable of handling the most difficult route clearance and debris removal missions. The team comes fully equipped with chainsaws, a backhoe, a bulldozer, and a front-endand loader. It can reach back to unit headquarters for additional bulldozers, loaders, and graders.
Indeed, such taskings are the norm for a Red Horse squadron.
"We are a heavy equipment and construction units," said Lt. Col. Stock Dinsmore, commander of the 203rd Red Horse squadron. "We have the assets to respond, whether it be earth movement or repair of structures after the storm."
The Virginia National Guard on Thursday was approved to activate 800 soldiers, airmen and members of the Virginia Defense Force. The troops are scheduled to stand up readiness centers in Hampton Roads, central Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and southwest Virginia by Friday evening. Those teams are prepared to use Humvees and light and medium tactical trucks for high water transport, as well as engineers with chain saws, trucks, and heavy engineer equipment for debris reduction and downed tree removal, said Lt. Col. Douglas Gagnon, deputy director of joint operations for the Virginia Guard.
Meanwhile, National Guard officials in New York and New Jersey are coordinating with state and local authorities to facilitate a quick response if called into action. Both states were hammered by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Approximately 12,000 guardsmen were called into action during the aftermath of that storm, with the largest contingent working in those two states where they conducted search and rescue and provided food and water distribution, debris removal, route clearance, power generation support, and assistance in maintaining civil order.
