Thousands of US troops continue to support Hurricane Irma rescue and recovery operations
By Kyle Rempfer
Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron and New York Air National Guard’s 109th Rescue Wing prepare to depart St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, for St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Sept. 8, 2017, for rescue operations in the wake of Hurricane Irma. (Air National Guard)
The Army has positioned more than 16,700 soldiers as well as civilians from the Army Corps of Engineers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and continental United States to assist with recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
More than 150 boats, 3,400 trucks and 680 generators are in use or have been made available to governors of states and territories where the hurricane made landfall, Army spokesman Col. Patrick Seiber said in an email Sunday.
“Governors are best postured to determine the needs of their residents and establish response priorities, and are currently using Army National Guard soldiers to help meet those needs,” Seiber said.
The active Army is involved as well.
The 101st Airborne Division, of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is positioning its helicopters to be used in search and rescue operations and resupply of food, water, medical supplies and other necessities the state may need.
The 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is overseeing the Army’s wheeled-vehicle effort, officials said. A convoy of about 100 high-water vehicles and nearly 400 soldiers are on their way from Fort Bragg to help locate and rescue people trapped by the flooding.
From the Air Force
Additionally, more than 950 airmen are supporting Hurricane Irma rescue and recovery operations, with another roughly 800 airmen assisting in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, Air Force spokeswoman Erika Yepsen said in an email Monday.
Air Force C-5s and C-17s from multiple bases are bringing supplies, including helicopters, to Homestead Air Reserve Base, which is just south of Miami, to support search-and-rescue operations.
Rescue missions already underway have evacuated more than 1,000 U.S. citizens from St. Maarten, Yepsen said.
Evacuations of U.S. citizens from St. Maarten will be completed Monday, according to a Department of Defense press release. The DoD is also coordinating the evacuation of other citizens from the British Virgin Islands and plans to provide support to any further State Department requests.
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Senior Airman Justin Benito, 23rd Civil Engineer Squadron heavy equipment operator, uses a chainsaw to cut a fallen tree’s trunk on Sept. 11, 2017, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Moody’s ride-out team consisted of approximately 80 airmen who were tasked with immediately responding to mission-inhibiting damage caused by Hurricane Irma. (Airman 1st Class Daniel Snider/Air Force)
Coast Guard Flood Punt Teams conduct rescue operations in Jacksonville, Fla., Sept. 11, 2017. The Coast Guard has deployed assets and resources from across the country to assist in rescue operations for Hurricane Irma. (U.S. Coast Guard)
Five airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron conduct search-and-rescue missions on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sept. 9, 2017, in conjunction with the Kentucky Army National Guard’s 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade. The airmen have controlled multiple helicopter landing zones and evacuated numerous victims by hoisting them to Kentucky Army Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for evacuation. (Air National Guard)
Sailors aboard the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) move pallets of water on Sept. 11, 2017, in preparation to support those affected by Hurricane Irma.
(Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Lauren D. Smith/Navy)
U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Paloma D. Perezurena, a logistics officer with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), observes U.S. Marines and U.S. Airmen unload humanitarian resources from a CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter with the 26th MEU, to support relief efforts in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sep. 10, 2017. (Lance Cpl. Santino D. Martinez/Marine Corps)
Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos crewmembers load a pallet of emergency ration meals for emergency responders to pass out to the residence of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Island, Sept. 10, 2017, after Hurricane Irma severely damaged the island. (Chief Petty Officer Crystalynn Kneen/Coast Guard)
Master Sgt. James Brucculeri, loadmaster with the 103rd Rescue Squadron, ushers evacuees onto a HC-130 on St. Maarten headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 10, 2017. (Staff Sgt. Erin Mills/Air Force)
Capt. William Hall, HC-130 pilot with the 102nd Rescue Squadron, helps bring an evacuee's service dog on board an HC-130 headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 10, 2017. (Staff Sgt. Erin Mills/Air Force)
Soldiers with the Florida National Guard’s Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Emergency Response Force-Package inflate a zodiac boat used in the rescue operations of civilians during disasters such as Hurricane Irma. The CERF-P joins the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services and Urban Search and Rescue at a staging in Orlando while they await reconnaissance and rescue missions. (Staff Sgt. Carmen Fleischmann/National Guard)
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kevin Colby conducts preflight inspections on his UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter as aircrews of the New York Army National Guard’s Company B, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment prepare for takeoff and deployment from Long Island MacArthur Airport, Islip, N.Y., to Florida in support of the Guard response to Hurricane Irma on Sept. 11, 2017. Ten UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and 55 aircrew members and maintainers deployed from three flight facilities across the state to support the Florida Army National Guard. (Capt. Mark Getman/New York National Guard)
Members of the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing assist in the evacuation of stranded American citizens from Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten, Sept. 8, 2017. The rescue wing, staging out of San Juan, Puerto Rico with the Puerto Rica Air National Guard’s 156th Airlift Wing, provided rescue support to those requiring urgent medical care following the devastation of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean. The coordinated effort between the Department of State and Department of Defense evacuated 1,172 Americans and 35 other foreign nationals from St. Maarten with the 106th prior to the arrival of Hurricane Jose. (Air National Guard photos courtesy of the 106th Rescue Wing)
The New York National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing assists in airlifting U.S. citizens stranded in St. Martin on Sept. 9, 2017, after Hurricane Irma devastated the island, with HC-130 King aircrews, maintainers, rescue teams and other Airmen from New York, Puerto Rico and Kentucky to name a few. (Maj. Sean Boughal/National Guard)
U.S. Air Force Guardian Angel pararescuemen from the 121st Rescue Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard, unload their equipment from an MC130P Combat Shadow aircraft assigned with the 129th Rescue Wing, California Air National Guard at Miami Opa Locka Executive Airport, Fla., as Hurricane Irma approaches Sept. 9, 2017. The Guardian Angel team are prepositioning themselves and staging equipment 20 miles outside of Miami in a safety bunker rated for a Category 5 hurricane in order to have immediate capability once the storm passes to begin personnel recovery operations. (Tech. Sgt. Joseph Prouse/Air National Guard)
Marines from 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, load a spare tire onto an MTVR 7-ton truck at the Alabama Army National Guard Fort Whiting Armory in Mobile, Ala., Sept. 9, 2017, in preparation of rescue missions following Hurricane Irma. (Lance Cpl. Niles Lee/Marine Corps)
As of Monday, Air Mobility Command aircraft have flown 30 missions transporting 937 passengers and more than 500 short tons of resources and equipment to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Island and Florida, said Col. Christopher Karns, a spokesman for AMC.
Over the weekend, AMC airmen conducted airfield assessments in St. Croix and St. Thomas so that military aircraft could safely land to provide medical and contingency response support. The airmen also delivered a team of search-and-rescue personnel to Puerto Rico, and flew more than 300 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to Orlando in anticipation of Hurricane Irma.
Navy and more
In addition to soldiers and airmen, the USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, arrived off Florida’s east coast Sunday night with 24 helicopters, according DoD. The USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship, and the USS New York, an amphibious transport dock, are expected to arrive today, as well. The ships will participate in rescue and recovery missions in south Florida and the Florida Keys.
Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) move cases of water on Sept. 7, 2017, during a supply onload in Norfolk, Va. (MC3 Patrick D. Maher/Navy)
Since making landfall, Hurricane Irma has been downgraded to a tropical storm. However, Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates still show 34 percent, or about 5 million, of Florida’s residents are without power, and the main water line in the Florida Keys is reported to be off-line, Seiber said.
Civilian members of the Army Corps of Engineers are already working in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to restore power, and they could head to Florida if needed. One area engineers are watching is the aging Herbert Hoover Dike at Lake Okeechobee, Seiber said.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday the state intended to keep water levels in the canals surrounding the dike as low as possible to avoid overburdening it, but did not foresee trouble given the estimated rainfall at that time, according to the Miami Herald.
