Arkansas National Guard ending weather mission
by February 11, 2011 2:37 pm 69 views
Editor’s note: This story provided by Capt. Chris Heathscott, public affairs officer for the Arkansas National Guard.
The National Guard’s health & wellness missions across Arkansas’ interstates are slated to come to an end tonight (Feb. 11) at 6 p.m., after having logged well over 5,000 miles in search of stranded motorists in need.
The Soldiers and Airmen began hitting the state’s major roadways at 11 a.m., Feb. 9, after a severe winter storm began dumping massive amounts of snow across the state. Approximately 130 Arkansas Guardsmen were activated to support civil authorities through a variety of missions.
By the end of the second day of support, the troops had checked 531 vehicles sidelined on Arkansas’ interstates and assisted 406 motorists who had been stranded as a result of the slick road conditions.
The Guardsmen assisted the motorists in any way possible to include providing food, water, fuel or transportation to a warming shelter as necessary. The Soldiers and Airmen also assisted by escorting 62 wreckers into heavily trafficked areas in order to assist those motorists in need.
The first mission to close for the Guard was transportation support to Springdale’s Arkansas State Police Troop L in Springdale. Fayetteville’s 142nd Fires Brigade supported the Troopers with military humvees and drivers to assist in their ability to work calls on I-540, which was one of the most severely affected of the state’s major roadways. The mission ended yesterday (Feb. 10), shifting those military assets to support the health and wellness checks mission that the vast majority of the activated Guardsmen were already working.
With the health and wellness missions ending this evening, only 18 Soldiers and Airmen will remain on duty one additional day, in order to wrap up that particular mission with the recovery and maintenance of military equipment.
The final mission for the Arkansas Guard is the four wheel drive ambulance support that is currently being provided to the Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) in Faulkner County.
The Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s Conway based battalion continues to support the mission with two military ambulances and four Soldiers, while the Hot Springs based 296th Ambulance Company is providing two additional medics for the team. The ambulance support mission is currently expected to close at noon tomorrow.