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 | June 20, 2011

National Guard ever present for Midwest flood relief

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Orrell National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. - About 2,300 National Guard members from nine states are continuing operations in support of the 2011 Midwest floods, which have ravaged thousands of acres and potentially caused billions of dollars in damage, National Guard officials said today.

Guard members from Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming have been working tirelessly, some for about three months, to protect their states and citizens from the devastation of multiple rising rivers.

The Arkansas Army National Guard is providing Soldiers to the Joint Operations Center and interagency liaison officers for better command and control.

In Iowa, where the Missouri River has caused the shutdown of much of Interstate 29 in the western part of the state, the National Guard has been evacuating citizens and patrolling levees in multiple counties.

Due to a primary levee on the Iowa-Missouri border rupturing on Monday, Iowa Guard members working with the Army Corps of Engineers built a secondary levee to protect the southwest Iowa community of Hamburg from flooding on the Missouri River on Wednesday.

Kansas Guard members are continuing to patrol affected levees, monitoring them for potential weakness from the ever-present pressure of the rising Missouri River waters.

Guard members from Louisiana are performing levee patrols and area security, providing aviation support and resource transportation for critical areas affected by the flooding.

With seven counties heavily affected by the floods, Missouri National Guard members are providing liaison officers and have been moving non-mission essential equipment to Forbes Field in Topeka, Kan in preparation of a potential relocation of Rosecrans Air National Guard Base.

Nebraska Guard members are providing levee monitoring for the city of Omaha and have prepared generators in the event they are needed for critical areas.

North Dakota Guard members are still running 24-hour operations. They are providing quick response forces and ground search and rescue teams to multiple counties throughout the state.

North Dakota Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters with hoist capabilities are also being utilized to place one-ton sandbags along weakened levees.

In South Dakota, Guard members are providing air assets for sandbagging efforts and the transportation of personnel.

They have deployed a Joint Incident Site Communications Capability team and over 100 hand-held radios to increase communication throughout the state.

The Wyoming National Guard has activated their emergency operations center while performing flood mitigation in several counties.

After a more than normal spring season of weather, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, several other events such as the worst tornado in recorded history, the Guard is now in full swing for the annual hurricane season but will continue its current operations both  home and abroad, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said.

"Your National Guard has been fully engaged in the warfight overseas, and we also stand ready to answer the call domestically when a disaster happens,” said Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley.

 

 

Related Articles
Lt. Col. Zachery Powell cuts the ribbon at the Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Medical ribbon cutting ceremony April 17, 2025, at Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho, to mark the opening of a new Medical Training Facility. The building, which provides laboratories, exam rooms, administrative areas, classrooms, record storage, and mobility-training storage for the 124th Fighter Wing’s 124th Medical Group, was completed in March 2025.
Idaho Air National Guard Opens Medical Training Facility
By Staff Sgt. Jadyn Eisenbrandt  | April 18, 2025
GOWEN FIELD, Idaho —The Idaho Air National Guard held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday to mark the opening of a new Medical Training Facility on Gowen Field for the 124th Fighter Wing.The building, which provides...

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Steven Lucas, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter standardization instructor with F Company, 1st Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard, performs rescue hoist operations aboard a Black Hawk in collaboration with the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April 9, 2025. MD-HART is made up of firefighters who routinely train with the Maryland Army Guard in preparation for response efforts during the hurricane season, tropical storms, and other emergency situations.
Maryland National Guard conducts rescue hoist training with Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team
By Staff Sgt. Amber Peck, | April 18, 2025
EDGEWOOD, Md. — Soldiers with the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, Maryland Army National Guard conducted rescue hoist training with the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April 9...

Soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are honored during a deployment ceremony at the Cajundome Convention Center in Lafayette, Louisiana, April 13, 2025. Approximately 700 Soldiers are deploying in support of Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo and Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa, where they will provide security and support operations.
La. Guard’s ‘Tiger Brigade’ holds deployment ceremony for overseas mission
By Louisiana National Guard | April 18, 2025
PINEVILLE, La. - About 700 Soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the “Tiger Brigade,” were honored last week during a deployment ceremony.The Guardsmen are deploying to...