An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Feb. 11, 2008

Storms bring busy week at home for Guard units

By Tech. Sgt. Mike R. Smith National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. - Nearly 300 members of the National Guard responded to call-ups from governors in seven states for emergency assistance during the first week in February after tornados and severe thunderstorms leveled communities in the South and snowstorms left residents without power and motorists stranded in the West.

Tornado-ravaged South
In the South, National Guard units in Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee continued operations on Friday, three days after an unseasonable string of winter thunderstorms and tornados charged through communities Feb. 5 and left large swaths of destruction, death and injuries.

In Kentucky, up to 139 Guardmembers with 32 HUMVEEs, two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, one heavy equipment wrecker, one fuel tanker and a bus deployed to tornado damaged areas.

The Kentucky Guardmembers provided emergency power for the Muhenberg Water Company and operated a mobile command post in Muhenberg County. Soldiers from the 307th Maintenance Company supported state and local law enforcement agencies at traffic control points.

In Arkansas, Army Guard Soldiers aided victims of a devastating tornado that touched down in Atkins. Arkansas National Guard troops from the 142nd Fires Brigade were called out late Feb. 5, and reported to disaster sites in the early hours of Feb. 6.

The Soldiers provided a 5,000-gallon water truck to Clinton as well as two 500-gallon water trailers and a generator to the Town of Mountain View. Guard aviation assets provided aerial reconnaissance for Gov. Mike Beebe and the state's Department of Emergency Management. Twenty-eight Guardmembers performed search and rescue missions in Atkins on Wednesday and aided with cleanup missions, through Friday.

The Tennessee National Guard was operating five UH-60s in aerial assessment missions. In addition, 24 Guardmembers were supporting civilian emergency response agencies with debris removal. Many are operating from a support base and civilian shelter at the Lafayette Armory.

Additional Tennessee Guardmembers were planning to supply emergency power for the Red Boiling Springs Water System and a hospital in Hartsville. Up to 150 Guard members were also planning to support debris removal operations in Macon, Trousdale and Sumner Counties.

Snow-bound West
In the West, where heavy snowfalls stranded residents and motorists, National Guard units in Wisconsin, Oregon, New Mexico and Idaho were slowing or halting their operations Friday after several days of emergency response missions.

After the winter storms stranded an estimated 800 motorists on a 19-mile stretch of Interstate-90 in Wisconsin, 68 Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers and Airmen deployed and conducted health and wellness checks and delivered about 5,000 bottles of water and about 350 packaged meals to stranded victims. The Guard also flew aerial surveillance missions for emergency response personnel.

Thirty-four members of the Oregon National Guard cleared snow away from roadways and utilities. Soldiers were operating two Army Guard mine detectors to locate fire hydrants, water covers and pipes.

New Mexico National Guardmembers provided assistance to the town of Chama after Gov. Bill Richardson declared a state of emergency for Rio Arriba County. Twenty-seven Soldiers were assisting local residents with snow removal.

In Idaho, 63 Guardmembers deployed Feb. 2 to remove snow from the roofs of nine schools in the northern part of the state after four feet of snow crippled school systems in three counties.

 

 

Related Articles
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Brian Searcy, the Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Army National Guard, addresses attendees of a warrant officer caucus session during the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) conference in Milwaukee, August 24, 2025. The 147th NGAUS General Conference and Exhibition – which is held annually to connect delegates from all 54 states and territories to discuss the future of the National Guard – took place August 21-25 and featured various events and social gatherings throughout Milwaukee to showcase Wisconsin’s rich history and heritage.
Searcy Leaves Legacy of Advocacy for Warrant Officers in Army Guard
By Lt. Col. Carla Raisler, | Aug. 28, 2025
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Chief Warrant Officer 5 Brian Searcy, the eighth command chief warrant officer of the Army National Guard, will retire later this year after more than three decades of service.Searcy marked the occasion this...

The 111th Electromagnetic Warfare Company conducts training exercise, Operation Golden Corridor in Dahlonega, Georgia, August 15, 2025. Throughout the duration of the exercise, Soldiers simulated peer and near-peer electromagnetic warfare scenarios and enhance unit proficiency in spectrum mapping, RF detection, and alternative radar awareness capabilities under austere conditions.
Georgia Guard Company Leads in Electromagnetic Warfare Modernization
By | Aug. 27, 2025
DAHLONEGA, Ga. - The Georgia Army National Guard’s 111th Electromagnetic Warfare Company, based in Forest Park, Georgia, is rapidly establishing itself as a leader in the Army’s modernization efforts within the...

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion 182nd Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts Army National Guard, and the 1st Battalion 69th Infantry Regiment, New York Army National Guard, participated in the annual Logan-Duffy Shooting Match, August 21, 2025, at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. The history of the Logan Duffy Rifle Match goes back nearly 90 years to the first match, which was held in 1936.
Massachusetts, New York Guard Members Compete in Historic Logan-Duffy Rifle Competition
By Sgt. 1st Class Steven Eaton,   | Aug. 27, 2025
DEVENS, Mass. – Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts Army National Guard, and the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, New York Army National Guard, participated in the annual Logan-Duffy...