MADISON, Wisc. - Three Wisconsin National Guard helicopters and 17 soldiers answered North Dakota's call for help to assist with flood relief efforts today.
The task force is from the West Bend-based 832nd Medical Company (Air Ambulance), the Madison-based 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation; and Detachment 1, Company B, the 248th Aviation Support Battalion, also in West Bend.
Once in North Dakota, they expect to conduct search and rescue operations and provide air transportation. They also have the ability to provide medical evacuation if needed.
Wisconsin's contingent will join more than 2,100 North Dakota Guard members and hundreds from other states including Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota and Missouri.
National Guard soldiers and airmen have been filling and hauling sandbags, transporting equipment, manning traffic control points and conducting search and rescue operations as North Dakota water ways continue to rise across the state.
Response to domestic emergencies is a critical part of the National Guard role, which also includes national defense, homeland defense and homeland security. In 2008 alone, the Wisconsin National Guard assisted in the response to floods and winter storms in Wisconsin; Hurricanes Ike and Gustav on the Gulf Coast; the November commissioning of USS Freedom in Milwaukee; and both the Republican and Democratic national conventions. The Wisconsin National Guard also supported Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2005.
While the Wisconsin National Guard currently has more than 3,200 soldiers and airmen deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism, more than 6,000 Guard members stand ready to assist Wisconsin and America with domestic operations such as the North Dakota Floods.