Courtesy Photo | Army Specialist Shannon Lichten, a member of the New York Army National Guard's 442nd...... read more read more
Subscribe
CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y. -- In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria which devastated the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the New York National Guard sent 400 Soldiers in the initial response to help the islands.
The bulk of those deployed Soldiers –341—came from the New York Army National Guard’s 53rd Troop Command with its headquarters at Camp Smith.
Meanwhile, additional 53rd Troop Command Soldiers ran a major statewide relief supply collection effort directed by New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
Nearly 16 percent of the 53rd Troop Command’s 4,100 Soldiers participated in Task Force Donation, the name for the troops assigned to the three-month relief efforts for victims of Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
Of the 648 Soldiers involved in the mission at some point, 114 were still on duty- including 41 in Puerto Rico, on Dec. 1, according to Major John Harder, the 53rd’s personnel officer.
“The 53rd Troop Command was the primary force provider of military police and engineer assets who responded to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, as well as personnel efforts to collect donations,” said Lt. Col. Jody Lupo, the 53rd Troop Command operations and training officer.
“They did an amazing job,” said Col. Isabel Smith, 53rd Troop Command’s chief of staff.
Smith was eager to explain what it meant for the New York Army National Guard to quickly respond to the damages inflicted by a level five hurricane that was not only outside of her Soldiers’ home state, but to an area only accessible by water and air travel.
“The ability to put forth a thorough response effort spanning across multiple domestic and overseas locations, requiring hundreds of Soldiers with various job specialties, highlights the caliber of our Soldiers,” Smith said. “We’re always here, always ready, whenever we’re needed.”
The 53rd Troop Command is comprised of multiple, specialized logistics and sustainment units, and was uniquely adept to handle the specific needs of the relief efforts, she said.
The 648 Soldiers who responded to the hurricanes were from 32 different units across the troop command. They deployed to storm damaged areas in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and established nearly a dozen donation hubs for relief contributions throughout New York State.
Among the first out the door were 985Soldiers from the 105th Military Police Company to the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, departing about a week after Hurricane Maria had passed the Caribbean on September 28, requested as part of the National Guard’s mutual aid agreement known as the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
The 105th Military Police Company conducted police assistance missions on St. Croix and returned to New York at the end of October.
Smith and four other 53rd Troop Command Spanish speaking officers, also deployed to Puerto Rico to assist a National Guard Bureau staff assistance team in coordinating support efforts.
The command then deployed the 442nd Military Police Company and 152nd Engineer Support Company to Puerto Rico in the following weeks.
The 442nd Military Police Company deployed 128 Soldiers to Puerto Rico where they conducted security missions on the island of Vieques and delivered relief supplies. 442nd Military Police Soldiers took part in several relief operations to remote villages with aircrews from New York’s 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation, also operating on Puerto Rico.
The bulk of the 442nd MP Company Soldiers returned to New York in early November but 43 volunteered to remain behind conducting security missions until Dec. 15.
The 152nd Engineer Support Company deployment required Soldiers to travel by airlift while preparing and shipping some 36 outsized engineer vehicles to Puerto Rico by sealift, a first for any New York National Guard disaster response effort.
The engineers deployed 113 Soldiers to Puerto Rico from Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Oct. 18-19. The company’s heavy equipment shipped from the Crowley Liner facility at Petty Island in Pennsauken, New Jersey on Oct. 13.
The company conducted road clearing missions on the island and the bulk of the company returned to New York on Nov. 15. A small element remained in Puerto Rico to ship vehicles and returned home on Nov. 23.
The unprecedented scope and breadth of damage in the Caribbean, and the response from the 53d Troop Command required flexibility and creative thinking from leaders at all levels, Lupo said.
National Guard leaders and staffs encountered challenges in all phases of the response: from recalling troops to scheduling movements out of state and sustaining forces 1,600 miles away from home station armories and operating in austere conditions.
“It was the first time we really had to quickly project people and equipment specifically for a State Active Duty mission outside of New York… on such a large scale,” said Capt. Luke Udell, 153d Troop Command logistics officer.
Every issue encouraged creative problem solving, Lupo added. Everything from identifying volunteers with long-term availability to utilizing both military and civilian air and sea vessels were outside of the norm, but essential to ensure a quick response.
“We’ve been tested in ways that differ from a typical natural disaster response,” Lupo said. “Every step of the way became more challenging - especially with limited connectivity; reaching back to your home station and higher-ups isn’t just around the corner anymore.”
More than 50 pieces of rolling stock, vehicles and trailers, and over 200 personnel from the 153d Troop Command alone went to U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico via ground, sea, and air transportation.
“Everybody put in late hours to just do what had to be done to accomplish the mission, and that was great,” Udell said. “It was great to see everyone come together as a team.”
After solving the logistics puzzle of moving dozens of pieces of equipment, hundreds of Soldiers and thousands of donated palletized goods by almost every travel mode conceivable, the mission might not have been completed without a Soldier like Spc. Abraham Matute.
Matute, a plumber and heavy equipment operator with the 1156th Engineer Company, just returned from a year-long deployment to Iraq when he got the call asking for volunteers to help the victims of Hurricane Maria.
Without hesitating, he packed his bags and was on a plane three weeks later for Puerto Rico with the 152nd Engineer Company.
“I was honored to be able to serve my country twice in less than a year; once for combat and once for humanitarian reasons,” Matute said.
Matute recalled being part of a convoy that spent over two hours getting to a remote village in the mountains of Puerto Rico that had been cut off by debris and broken roadways. With no power, no running water and little food supply, the villagers still offered the Soldiers what little food and coffee they had in appreciation for their help.
“When you see a people that has next to nothing offer you the very last of their food, you can’t help but feel proud and motivated to continue to help,” Matute said.
###
| Date Taken: | 12.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.01.2017 12:09 |
| Story ID: | 257077 |
| Location: | CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE , NY, US |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NY Army Guard's 53rd Troop Command steps up for Hurricane Response Missions, by SSG Michael Davis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT