The Maryland National Guard’s shortened mission to Louisiana for Hurricane Gustav may have provided a much needed training exercise with three tropical storms heading this way.
The guard Thursday returned 43 of 50 soldiers after a three-day trip aimed at controlling flights in and out of Baton Rouge.
With Tropical Storm Hanna baring down on the East Coast, and Hurricane Ike and Tropical Storm Josephine threatening to do the same, the guard unit could be re-deployed again.
“The possibility is always there that we may have to help out for another disaster,” said Brig. Gen. Alberto Jimenez, commander of the Maryland Army National Guard.
“But we let Maryland and everyone else know that we can be mobilized within eight to 10 hours, ship out and deploy to a disaster area and be ready to do work.”
Lessons learned
The brigade experienced a rapid deployment, as some of its members have not served on state disaster relief efforts.
The guardsmen also learned what necessary equipment, such as global positioning systems and vehicles, would be needed on the next mission.
Col. Tim Gowen, the brigade’s commander, said he gained confidence in his unit despite sitting in hangar for two days.
“Don’t dwell on the fact that we didn’t do anything, but know that we were capable of doing more if the need had come,” Gowen told the unit Thursday before leaving from Louisiana.
The unit was called into action late Monday night, and by 11 a.m., three large cargo planes were on their way to Louisiana with soldiers and equipment.
But shortly after landing, the unit was put on hold, and the next day was recalled after officials saw less of a need for a full air command brigade — only seven members stayed behind to help the Louisiana National Guard.
Turning on the ‘switch’
Chief Warrant Officer Mike Cohen said soldiers have a “switch” that transforms them from civilians to military service members when the orders come in, and is aware the unit may be called into action if the storms create the need.
He was about to leave his Reisterstown house Monday night when he got the call to deploy to Louisiana.
“My wife could see it on my face when I got the call,” he said.
“I’m no longer Mikey going shopping with his wife, but Chief Cohen of the National Guard.”
Power after Gustav
Meanwhile, central Louisiana was hit hard by Gustav, which caused extensive power outages, flooding and property damage, said Col. Tom Zabasky, of the Louisiana National Guard and commander of Esler Field Air Base in Alexandria, where the Maryland National Guard unit was stationed.
Even the Louisiana National Guard’s air field and major base, Camp Beauregard, operated on generator power. Elsewhere, houses along Route 116 were dark, though a few had their own generators.
About the only place with full power was a correctional facility next to Camp Beareguard.
“If you don’t have power, it pretty much brings things to a grinding halt,” Zabasky said.
“We were pretty lucky, because [Gustav] didn’t destroy New Orleans and the levees held.”
The air base is home to several medevac helicopters that flew patients in and out of disaster areas, Zabasky said.
The base was prepping aircraft Thursday to help utility workers survey the power grid from the air to find downed lines, as well as ferry state officials to disaster areas to assess the damage and allocate resources, he said.
Mobilizing before the hurricane
One fact that helped the post-storm recovery was the mobilization of military and first-responders to Louisiana well before Gustav hit, Zabasky said.
“It’s because of these [interstate pacts] that you see this Maryland unit willing to come here to help us through this fight, because that is what it is,” he said.
The Louisiana National Guard was on active duty for six months during Katrina.
As for how Zabasky believes his air units will be on call, “we’ll be here until the adjutant general believes the job is done.”
[email protected]
