Oklahoma City, Okla. - Tornado season in Oklahoma started more than a month early on Feb. 10 as a tornado struck the town of Lone Grove.
The category three tornado damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes and local businesses and took the lives of at least nine residents.
Local and state emergency management officials spent Tuesday evening searching the hardest hit areas for survivors before forwarding a request to Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry for a limited call up of Oklahoma National Guardsmen to assist local law enforcement.
On Feb. 11, Army 1st Lt. Jeremy Gonzalez and 27 other local Guardsmen reported to the Oklahoma Army National Guard Armory in Ardmore, where they received a mission brief before making the short six-mile drive to Lone Grove.
By 10:00 a.m. the Soldiers were providing security at entry control points near the hardest hit areas of Lone Grove.
Army Spc. Timothy Steely was assigned to an entry control point located less than a mile from a 60-unit mobile home park that was totally destroyed by the half-mile wide twister.
Steely, who returned from an eight month deployment to Iraq in October of last year, said he was glad to be of help to people in his local area during this difficult time. "I spent eight months trying to make Iraq a safer place, and now I am more than happy to be here helping my fellow Oklahomans when they need it most."
That afternoon, Henry thanked the Oklahoma Guard for its quick response and said that the Citizen-Soldiers of Oklahoma are always there when the state and its people need them.
Army Col. Robbie Asher, the Oklahoma Guard's chief of staff, praised the quick response of local Guardsmen saying, "Once again the men and women of the Oklahoma National Guard have answered the call from their citizens and they responded in the most efficient manner that I have witnessed in many years.
"The Oklahoma National Guard is a community based organization," he added. "We could not exist without the support of our local communities and we will always be there to support them when they need it most."
Oklahoma Guardsman are scheduled to be in Lone Grove until Feb. 16, when the governor will re-evaluate the security situation to determine if they should stay state active duty for one or more additional days.