Guard Soldiers and Airmen responding to Northeast snow storm

LATHAM, N.Y. - As blizzard warnings were being issued for the Northeast this morning, the New York National Guard put 260 Soldiers and Airmen on duty to assist in New York's response to the storm at the direction of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Army and Air National Guard units on Long Island, in New York City, and in the Hudson Valley were ordered to mobilize their Initial Response Forces. Meanwhile the 204th Engineer Battalion - headquartered in Binghamton with elements in the Hudson Valley and New York's Southern Tier counties - was directed to send snow-moving equipment and personnel to Long island.

Initial response forces were stood up at:

• F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base at Westhampton Beach on Long Island;
• Farmingdale Armed Forces Reserve Center at Farmingdale on Long Island;
• The Manor Road Armory complex on Staten island;
• The Camp Smith Training Site at Peekskill in the Hudson Valley;
• And Stewart Air National Guard Base at Newburgh in the Hudson Valley also prepared.

Each Initial Response Force consists of 20 Soldiers and Airmen with five Humvees. The teams are prepared for 24-hour operations so 10 personnel will be on duty with each response force around the clock.

The response forces can conduct traffic control in support of local police agencies or move critical personnel and supplies as required.

And additional 25 vehicles and to 50 personnel have been assigned to support Fire Department New York emergency medical service locations in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. These military vehicles are on call to help move people and equipment as required by civilian first responders.

The 204th Engineer Company dispatched four front end loaders, 10 dump trucks, and seven small skid steer front end loaders, along with operators, to the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Farmingdale. The Soldiers and equipment will be hand call if needed to assist in clearing snow.

Seventeen of the Soldiers came from the 152nd Engineer Company in Buffalo. In November the Soldiers of the 152nd were among the first New York National Guard units to respond to a massive lake effect storm which hit Erie County on Nov. 19, 2014.

The New York National Guard stood up its Joint Operation Center in Latham to coordinate the response, while dispatching liaison officers to New York City's Office of Emergency Management and county and regional emergency management centers in Nassau and Suffolk County on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley.

The New York National Guard's Joint Task Force Empire Shield, a security augmentation force operating in transportation hubs in New York City remains on duty at LaGuardia Airport and JFK International Airport and at Pennsylvania Station, Grand Central Station and the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) terminal.

Each of the five mobilized Initial Response Forces consists of 20 personnel and five Humvees. They were directed to be prepared for 24-hour operations so 10 Soldiers and Airmen will be on duty around the clock

National Guard personnel were poised Monday in Northeast states to assist local authorities during an expected massive snowfall, one described by the National Weather Service as a storm of "historic" proportions.

In Connecticut, 400 personnel were expected to be on duty by Monday night, providing highway assistance. Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered a travel ban on state highways in response to the expected winter storm. That ban begins at 9 p.m. ET.

"Although storms can be unpredictable, this storm has the potential to have a significant impact on the state and we need to be prepared," Malloy said. "Just as the state is monitoring and preparing, the public should do the same."

"Our Soldiers and Airmen have a great deal of experience assisting the citizens of Connecticut during significant weather events," said Maj. Gen. Thaddeus J. Martin, the adjutant general. "We take pride in our ability to mobilize quickly and respond to a storm in support of relief efforts throughout the state."

In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker activated 500 National Guard troops to assist storm-related operations. Baker said at a news conference that Soldiers will help with removing tree limbs, aiding stranded drivers and other services. "I am hoping they will not be dealing with a lot of stranded drivers," Baker said.

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf called up 150 National Guard members, who are in the Philadelphia area, according to the Associated Press.