The U.S. military is prepositioning ships, supplies, equipment, and personnel in anticipation of Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic storm on record, expected to make landfall in Florida this weekend.
The Navy has dispatched the amphibious ships USS Kearsarge and USS Oak Hill, along with Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to be in the position to respond, if requested.
The ships were originally headed to assist in relief operations in Texas after Hurricane Harvey, but will now stay off the east coast of Florida, awaiting orders.
U.S. Northern Command, whose missions include domestic disaster relief, has designated three locations as “incident support bases” to support response and recovery operations. They are Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and Warner Robbins Air Force Base, Ga.
In addition, NORTHCOM is deploying numerous Defense Department civil support subject matter experts to assist state, territorial and international mission partners in identifying potential support areas where their expertise may be required, as well as providing urban search and rescue capabilities to the Caribbean.
“Federal relief agencies will assess damage following Irma’s movement through the region and request DoD assistance as needs arise,” said a statement issued Wednesday. “USNORTHCOM is anticipating these needs in an effort to provide the right support in the right place at the right time.”
Meanwhile, in Texas, nearly 3,000 active-duty service members continue to conduct an array of support missions, according to NORTHCOM.
“For example, DoD trucks and helicopters continue to be actively engaged in life-sustaining commodity distribution,” the statement said.
