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National Guard Ike Response
By Charlie
Army 1st Sgt. Gary Burchfield uses his humvee to help residents clear a tree knocked down into a road by Hurricane Ike in Lake Charles, La., Sept. 13, 2008. Burchfield is assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, Louisiana National Guard. Hurricane Ike's winds uprooted trees and caused flooding in the Lake Charles area. U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Nathaniel P. Orphey
Army Major David W. May writes: Louisiana Guardsmen Answer the Call as Hurricane Ike Slams the Coast
LAKE CHARLES, La., Sept. 13, 2008 – As Hurricane Ike slammed ashore today, the National Guard was already at work evacuating stranded citizens from their homes and other locations across Southwest Louisiana.By noon today, members of the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, working in conjunction with local and state authorities, rescued 19 people, including three children, as well as four family pets, and responded to numerous calls for assistance from both civilians and other rescue agencies.
The day began hours before daylight, as National Guard members prepared their rescue equipment and vehicles and themselves mentally for whatever the day might bring.
Around 7 a.m., a line of high-water vehicles and humvees loaded with troops rolled out of their armories to begin the process of locating those in need and getting them to safety.
There are a couple important lessons learned this hurricane season for National Guardsmen, civilian disaster responders, police, fire, and EMS crews. While the disaster response/relief mission set has remained unchanged, some of the TTPs used on the tactical level have been refined. Here’s my take:
-Units are now ready before the storm. This is key, as Guard units in the past were usually called up after the storm hit. This allows a damage assessment to be done, and a proper response to be calibrated and deployed forward. The flip side of this issue is cost, essentially paying for more troops than you need, just to have them on standby in case something happens.
-Communication between military and civilian organizations has dramatically improved: A cell phone works just as well as a tactical radio, assuming that a hurricane has not knocked out cell reception. When I was in the Katrina relief operation in 2005, cell service was back up in a few days. Connectivity between local police, emergency responders, state and local emergency operations centers and operating Guard units has allowed relief ops to become more effective and more tailored to the response actions that are required.
All in all, disaster response is a core mission for the Guard, and the fact that it is performing well despite multiple overseas deployments and unit training cycles is a testament to the leadership of the officers and NCOs in these units, as well as to the grit and determination of the troops on the line.
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