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 | Aug. 27, 2011

Hurricane Irene: As thousands deploy, National Guard supports joint team, civilian authorities

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. - National Guard support to the joint response to Hurricane Irene was in full motion Saturday as thousands of Soldiers and Airmen rolled out in multiple states to support civilian authorities.

Guard officials at the National Guard Coordination Center here were tracking the storm and working with other federal agencies, states, territories and the District of Columbia around the clock as about 4,450 Guard members in 13 states supported the response – with more Citizen-Soldiers and –Airmen on the way.

The National Guard Bureau is coordinating closely with state and federal agencies – including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Northern Command – to provide timely, potentially lifesaving hurricane relief, Guard officials said.

More than 400,000 Guard members are available in more than 3,300 communities nationwide, including about 101,000 in the affected states,

States as far and safe from the storm as Alaska, Illinois, Louisiana and New Mexico were contributing National Guard assets to the response. Alaska sent its storied "Guardian Angels" with helicopters for potential search and rescue missions; helicopters and troops were en route from Illinois for potential support to New York, where the governor mobilized about 2,000 of his own troops; Louisiana contributed helicopters and troops to a response package staging to assist where needed.

The National Guard has the size, skills, training, experience, command and communications infrastructure and legal flexibility to support civil authorities at a moment's notice, Guard officials said.

Directly affected states – either because they were already being impacted by the storm or were in its forecast path – included Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. The District of Columbia also was affected.

To avoid damage, the Air National Guard repositioned aircraft in numerous states as a precautionary measure days in advance of the storm.

Meanwhile, the Virginia National Guard reported:

The National Guard Bureau is spearheading an effort to stage forces in Virginia that would enable them to rapidly respond in the event they are needed for recovery operations in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

The personnel and equipment will be prepositioned in Virginia, and then could be deployed in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey or Washington, D.C., through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact system if needed. As the severe weather continues past Virginia, the forces could then be available for duty in states to the north.

An advance party from the South Carolina National Guard began movement today to the Virginia National Guard's Aviation Support Facility in Sandston where they will assist in positioning aviation equipment. A task force with a variety of different aviation capabilities is ready to support when called to begin air movement on Sunday after the storm passes and will stage in Sandston.

The Tennessee National Guard has troops alerted and could begin movement on Sunday. If they come to Virginia, they would assemble at the Virginia National Guard's Maneuver Training Center at Fort Pickett and be available for duty throughout the region.

"We currently have enough Virginia National Guard personnel and equipment staged to meet the anticipated needs of recovery operations from Hurricane Irene," said Army Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., adjutant general. "In the event that additional resources are needed in Virginia or elsewhere along the East Coast, positioning these forces in Virginia enables the National Guard to respond more rapidly to provide assistance."

-- Cotton Puryear of the Virginia National Guard contributed.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...