Dozens of Maryland National Guardsmen traded the sunny skies of Middle River for the wet and dreary weather of Louisiana, as three cargo planes arrived to help those ravaged by Hurricane Gustav.
Maryland sent 50 soldiers via four C-130J planes here Tuesday to help with the recovery effort following Gustav’s path of destruction through Louisiana.
One of the planes had to turn back to Maryland due to bad weather, and was expected to arrive here late Tuesday.
The turnaround delayed the Guard’s deployment to Baton Rouge, where the guardsmen will be handling air traffic control and flight operations for incoming and outgoing relief flights.
The first plane took off from Warfield Air Base at 11 a.m., traveling nearly four hours to Esler Field, home to a Louisiana Air National Guard base.
The base is running on generator power, as the entire surrounding parish is without electricity.
“There are trees and power lines down everywhere, and there’s significant property damage due to [fallen trees],” said Sgt. Greg Patin of the Louisiana National Guard.
Dozens of charter and school buses still line the airport, having brought hundreds of evacuees from southern Louisiana.
The sky was overcast and air thick with humidity Tuesday afternoon, the ground boggy from an evident downpour.
The Maryland Guard today plans to head south today and begin its work, which could take at least a week.
“Hopefully the winds will die down, and we can set up and get to work,” said Staff Sgt. Andrew Scott of the Maryland Guard.
Before guardsmen took off from Middle River, Gov. Martin O’Malley addressed the soldiers and airmen, thanking them for their service and wishing them a safe journey.
“Our prayers go out to you and to your families and spouses, who I’m sure weren’t too thrilled to get the call,” O’Malley said.
He was briefed by Col. Tim Gowen, the brigade commander who is leading the Guard unit here.
Though this unit is new to Louisiana, the Maryland Guard isn’t. When Katrina struck here three years ago this week, Maryland sent its military police unit to help provide security.
Louisiana Guard officials said Tuesday that Katrina had only brushed the central part of the state — Esler Field was not being used as hub then. But Gustav, which arrived on shore Monday as a Category 2 hurricane with winds up to 110 miles per hour, plowed through this area and did more damage than Katrina.
“We’re making the best we can, but at least this time we were ready,” Patin said.
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