{"id":14460,"date":"2023-06-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=14460"},"modified":"2023-06-10T06:48:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-10T06:48:41","slug":"army-provides-disaster-response-gears-up-for-hurricane-wildfire-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=14460","title":{"rendered":"Army provides disaster response, gears up for hurricane, wildfire seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Sgt. Joseph Mafnas of the 1224th Engineer Support Company, Guam National Guard, helps a High Mobility Engineer Excavator (HMEE) operator remove debris after Typhoon Mawar in Guam June 2, 2023.
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WASHINGTON \u2014 Typhoon Mawar, a Category 4 storm, hit the U.S. territory of Guam May 24 bringing torrential rain, strong winds and leaving thousands without power, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the days before landfall, President Joe Biden declared an emergency and ordered federal assistance to supplement local response efforts. The Army National Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and active-duty units began preparing for recovery operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our duty to protect people and property, whether that be [in the U.S.] or overseas,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Jonathan Beddall, vice director of the National Guard Bureau\u2019s Joint Operations Center. “We offer highly trained and tested personnel capable of responding anywhere they\u2019re needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the storm hit, utilities were lost, homes were damaged or destroyed and some families had to live in refugee shelters.<\/p>\n

The members of the Guam National Guard immediately assisted with response efforts. They helped the island\u2019s more than 150,000 citizens by clearing roads, removing debris, directing traffic and helping to restore power.<\/p>\n

The National Guard Bureau, Hawaii National Guard, U.S. Army Pacific and Army Reserve personnel were all brought in to assist in the recovery.<\/p>\n

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\n Spc. John Tun of Binadu Company, 1-294th Infantry Regiment, Guam National Guard, operates a traffic control point in Barrigada May 31, 2023, as part of the disaster response to Typhoon Mawar. The Category 4 storm, which packed 150 mph winds, knocked out power, water, and other critical services to the approximately 160,000 U.S. Citizens of Guam.
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\n Spc. Victor Capati of the 1224th Engineer Support Company, Guam National Guard, cuts a fallen tree during a debris removal misison in Guam June 2, 2023 following Typhoon Mawar.
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\n A battered home in the village of Yigo, Guam, lies in ruin after Typhoon Mawar lashed the U.S. Territory on May 25, 2023. Yigo suffered a direct hit from the southern eye wall of the Category 4 storm, which brought 140 mph sustained winds to the mostly rural village.
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\u201cWe are appreciative of the work we\u2019ve already accomplished with our territorial and federal partners, and I\u2019m happy to announce that more relief is on the way,\u201d Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said in a statement May 29. \u201cAs our community continues making progress towards recovery in the wake of Typhoon Mawar, I\u2019ve been assured that Guam will be provided with every necessary resource for a complete and speedy recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in the U.S., the Army is preparing for the hurricane season, June 1-\u00a0Nov. 30, and the wildfire season, which typically runs from the summer into fall depending on the region of the country.<\/p>\n

U.S. Army North held their annual Hurricane Rehearsal of Concept Drill at Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston May 24. The training helps synchronize active-duty military support efforts with federal, state, territorial and local partners to ensure seamless support in the event of a hurricane response mission.<\/p>\n

The scenario for this year featured three sequential hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions. The theoretical storms ranged in intensity and impacted multiple areas over a short period of time.<\/p>\n

This rehearsal allowed U.S. Army North, joint military services, U.S. federal agencies and other participating organizations to game plan potential recovery efforts for the hurricane season.<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John R. Evans, U.S. Army North commanding general, hosts personnel from federal, state, U.S. territories and military agencies at the ARNORTH Hurricane Rehearsal of Concept Drill held at Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston, May 24, 2023. The ROC Drill helps synchronize active duty military support efforts with federal, state, territorial and local partners to ensure seamless support in the event of a hurricane response event.
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\u201cYou want to build those friendships and relationships prior to the event happening, which is so critical, because then you really can work through getting after the need at hand,\u201d said Maj. Gen. William Prendergast IV, deputy commander of U.S. Army North and Task Force 51 commander.<\/p>\n

The task force is a deployable command post embedded within U.S. Army North designed to assist local, state, and federal responders with disasters. It has 30 assigned service members and can add additional Soldiers if needed.<\/p>\n

The team can operate in rigorous environments with less than 24 hours notification when a federal agency requests support.<\/p>\n

They can drop into a disaster area and operate on their own without taking resources away from the community in crisis, Prendergast said. They respond to various incidents including wildfires, earthquakes and hurricanes.<\/p>\n

Last year, there were 14 named storms, of which two intensified into major hurricanes reaching wind speeds of 111 mph or greater, Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Fiona.<\/p>\n

According to the NOAA, 156 people lost their lives during Hurricane Ian, and it became the third costliest storm in U.S. history, causing $114 billion in damages.<\/p>\n

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\n Florida National Guard Soldiers transport families through flooded roads during Hurricane Ian relief efforts in Arcadia, Fla., Oct. 3, 2022. Florida National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological\/Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) – Enhanced Response Force Package (FL-CERFP) assisted first responders as they conducted day and night time operations in support of residents in affected regions. Maritime operations granted FLNG Soldiers the capabilities to extract individuals trapped in their homes due to compromised road conditions in order to provide medical aid and ensure safety. (U.S. Army courtesy photo by Spc. Samuel Herman)
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\n Florida National Guard Soldiers and first responders distribute supplies during Hurricane Ian relief efforts in Arcadia, Fla., Oct. 3, 2022. Florida National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological\/Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) – Enhanced Response Force Package (FL-CERFP) assisted first responders as they delivered supplies to areas affected by floods during the historic hurricane impact. Many residents were left without adequate supplies due to the compromised road conditions following the natural disaster. FLNG Soldiers utilized all available assets and personnel to ensure the safety and security of those affected by the adverse conditions. (U.S. Army courtesy photo by Spc. Samuel Herman)
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\n Two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk medium utility helicopter from the 1-140th Aviation Regiment dips their water bucket bucket in the Pardee Reservoir during annual joint aerial fire fighting training near Ione California, April 27, 2019. California Army and Air National Guard helicopters units train together alongside Cal Fire. The partnership enhances California aerial wild land fire fighting capabilities. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Christian Jadot)
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The NOAA predicted near-normal hurricane activity this year, which would match last season.<\/p>\n

There were also almost 69,000 wildfires in the U.S. last year as reported by the National Interagency Fire Center. These fires burned more than 7.5 million acres.<\/p>\n

One of the many roles of the National Guard is providing aid and helping combat hurricanes and wildfires. At the end of May, 357 members were supporting wildfire response efforts in California and Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live and work in these communities,\u201d Beddall said during a media roundtable May 23. \u201cSo, we’re invested in every response in order to make ourselves a little bit better, so that we can meet the needs that need to be met.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each year, the National Guard gathers\u00a0with state leaders to discuss weather projections. Here, they line up potential response options in case help is requested.<\/p>\n

More than 8,000\u00a0National Guard Soldiers are currently engaged in domestic operation missions supporting local communities throughout the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we officially begin hurricane season and expect wildfires to ravage this summer, we can only predict that the number of [National Guard] Soldiers called to action nationwide will also grow as the seasons unfold,\u201d Beddall said. \u201cWe’re committed to serve our communities for as long as we’re needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED LINKS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

US Army North, FEMA, others train for unprecedented hurricane season<\/a><\/p>\n

2022 Hurricane season has come and gone<\/a><\/p>\n

Army News Service<\/a><\/p>\n

ARNEWS archives<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sgt. Joseph Mafnas of the 1224th Engineer Support Company, Guam National Guard, helps a High Mobility Engineer Excavator (HMEE) operator remove debris after Typhoon Mawar in Guam June 2, 2023. (Photo Credit: Mark Scott\/GUNG) VIEW ORIGINAL WASHINGTON \u2014 Typhoon Mawar, a Category 4 storm, hit the U.S. territory of Guam May 24 bringing torrential rain, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14462,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14460"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14472,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14460\/revisions\/14472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}