FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska, - JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., - Gov. Jay Nixon said today that aviation assets from the Missouri National Guard will be sent to the state of Louisiana later this week to help with the response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The role of the Missouri National Guard will include at least one Black Hawk helicopter and crew, along with 10 to 15 aircraft maintenance personnel.
"The Missouri National Guard has a proud record of providing much-needed assistance during times of disaster and emergencies," Gov. Nixon said. "I expect the skills and training of our Guardsmen to be put to good use in helping with the response to this oil spill."
Missouri's adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Stephen Danner, said the state's Guardsmen are ready to pitch in.
"These are the most seasoned Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen in the history of the Guard," Danner said. "After nearly nine years of deployments to support overseas contingency operations and more than a dozen state emergency missions in the same time frame, we're ready to step up to any challenge."
During the mission, the Missourians expect to provide external load capabilities, transport and daily insertion and extraction of response personnel to various sites and missions, Danner said.
This mission will mark a return to the Gulf for Missouri Guard members. Soldiers and Airmen previously supported response efforts to hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Gustav in 2005 and 2008.
Missouri and other state National Guards are being activated under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. The agreement, which was established in 1996, has become a cornerstone of response to major disasters. It ensures that assets from other states can be brought to bear against a wide range of disasters including fires, floods and manmade disasters.
In February, Gov. Nixon sent a C-130 cargo aircraft and an 11-Airmen crew from the Guard's 139th Airlift Wing to Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina in support of Haiti earthquake relief operations.