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 | March 27, 2009

Time critical in North Dakota Guard's battle against flooding

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. - The next few days will be critical as North Dakota braces for record-setting Red River water levels, officials in the affected area said today.

"The biggest issue is if the dike breaks," Army Col. James Hrdlicka, commander of Joint Task Force-East, said in a telephone interview from Fargo, the state's largest city, with about 100,000 residents facing potentially disastrous flooding.

"It's supposed to crest approximately this Saturday," Hrdlicka said, emphasizing that weather forecasting is an uncertain art.

"One or two days - don't take this for gospel - during that timeframe is when it's going to be critical that that thing holds," he said. "Once it starts to subside, once we get to that point and nothing has given way or it's still holding, then we should be O.K."

The National Guard task force has brought strong communication with other agencies and the physical effort of 1,200 Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen to this fight against time.

North Dakota is at the epicenter of a four-state struggle against the elements, while three others have their hands full as well:

• Minnesota: Gov. Tim Pawlenty was submitting an expedited major disaster declaration request as about 430 Guardmembers distributed sandbags, provided security at sandbagging sites, patrolled dikes, secured pumps and controlled traffic.
• South Dakota: Guardmembers helped the state's transportation department remove snow after severe snowfall Monday dumped on Sturgis and Rapid City, forcing the closure of Interstate 90 from the Wyoming border to Chamberlain.
• Montana: National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters provided search and rescue assistance after transportation workers were unable to breach heavy snow and ice to reach stranded motorists following Monday's snowstorm.

Hrdlicka and his Soldiers and Airmen found themselves facing some of the storm's severest tests after the melt from accumulated snow and ice threatened to swell the Red River to levels not seen in living memory.

"Our presence helps," he said. "It makes people feel a little more comfortable."

Guardmembers assisted with evacuations and traffic control, lined up to place sandbags that strengthened levees, and provided aerial surveillance.

North Dakota troops in particular are providing personnel and resources to key flood fighting areas; filling, storing and distributing sandbags; patrolling dikes, breaking ice jams, providing security and operating traffic control points; and helping/rescuing stranded citizens threatened by flood waters.

The National Guard is contributing to a team effort that also has the state's Emergency Operations Center at its highest activation level, a Red Cross shelter opening, a private engineering company blasting ice in Bismarck and local law enforcement and other rescue workers out in force.

"The most important thing is communicating and being with the city officials and their [Emergency Operations Center]," Hrdlicka said. "When we're out doing missions, the Soldiers and Airmen are side-by-side with the citizens."

The Red River previously reached about 39 feet in 1997, the commander said. "If it gets over 39 1/2, something like that, then this will be one of the biggest events in this area. The entire state is seeing flooding that many people really haven't seen in places that normally don't."

Some Guardmembers were on duty even though their own homes were at risk. "If there is a situation at their house, they come off state active duty and go take care of that," Hrdlicka said. "A lot of them come back."

Joint Task Force-East serves the Red River Valley, where the river flows north from the border with South Dakota to the Canadian border.

Wahpeton, N.D., is the first community in the river's progress from the southern part of the state. It flows north through Fargo, the Grand Forks and numerous communities on up to Canada.

"We will be following this all the way up to Canada," Hrdlicka said. "We had a call for volunteers. We had real short notice. Within 24 hours, we had 200. They step up, they really do. The attitude is really good. It's snowing out. We had freezing rain last night. The roads are slippery.

"Visibility isn't that great," he added. "We've got folks out there on traffic control points and building dikes and putting up barriers, and their attitude is good. They have a sense that they're helping somebody, and that really makes a difference."

Many of the Soldiers and Airmen have previously deployed either domestically, for example to the Southwest border to assist the Border Patrol or to the Gulf of Mexico states after Hurricane Katrina, or overseas.

More than 59,000 Guardmembers are currently involved in federal operations worldwide and more than 6,000 are on duty around the nation pursuing domestic missions, National Guard Bureau officials reported.

 

 

Related Articles
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general of Louisiana, discusses briefing details with Col. Augusto Villalaz, director of the Joint Staff for the Louisiana National Guard, during the annual Hurricane Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) Drill at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, May 21, 2025. The drill helps synchronize plans and strengthen coordination across LANG’s senior leadership ahead of hurricane season.
Louisiana Guard Rehearses Emergency Plans for Hurricane Season
By Capt. Peter Drasutis, | May 28, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana National Guard conducted its annual Hurricane Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) Drill at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Baton Rouge May 21, uniting key personnel across multiple commands to refine...

U.S. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery Regiment, New Hampshire Army National Guard, sling load a reduced range practice rocket to a Moroccan CH-47 Chinook during a multinational sling load operation at African Lion 2025 (AL25), May 17, 2025, in TanTan, Morocco. AL25, the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF,) on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations - preparing forces to deploy, fight, and win.
New Hampshire Guard Teams with Morocco for Sling Load Training at African Lion 2025
By Sgt. 1st Class Jessica Forester, | May 28, 2025
TAN TAN, Morocco – Soldiers assigned to the 744th Forward Support Company (744TH FSC), 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery Regiment, New Hampshire Army National Guard partnered with the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR), for...

From left, Sgt. Edward Acda, Lt. Col. Vern Perez, Sgt. 1st Class Celine Taitano, Capt. Ryan Arellano, Staff Sgt. Jovencio Mortera, and Sgt. Avery Tyquiengco of the Guam National Guard participate in Balikatan Cyber Defense Exercise, Manila, April 27, 2025. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the U.S. and Philippine armed forces designed to strengthen the alliance, showcase the capable combined force, and demonstrate the commitment to regional security and stability. (Courtesy asset)
Guam Guard Participates in Balikatan 2025 Cyber Defense Exercise
By Mark Scott, | May 28, 2025
MANILA, Philippines – A team of cyber professionals and an intelligence analyst from the Guam National Guard attended Balikatan 2025, participating in the three-week Cyber Defense Exercise alongside teams from various...