By Spc. Cassie Simonton
116th Public Affairs Detachment
MINOT, N.D. - Soldiers and airmen of the North Dakota National Guard have been tirelessly engaged in one flood fight or another across the state both this spring and summer. Now, after about 75 days of such duty, they are getting some much-welcomed relief from an eastern neighbor.
During the next two weeks, North Dakota Guard members in Minot will receive some extra help from 120 Minnesota National Guard Soldiers. They will arrive July 5 to provide assistance through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, EMAC.
EMAC allows resources - whether personnel or equipment - to be used across state lines during emergencies or disasters. It's a nationally adopted and congressionally ratified mutual aid compact that states share responsibility in.
Capt. Mark McEvers, of the North Dakota National Guard's 136th Quartermaster Battalion (Combat Sustainment Support), said the Minnesota soldiers are prepared to take over military police operations now being performed by North Dakota Guard units. Other soldiers from Minnesota are heavy equipment operators and horizontal engineers, so extra hands will be available to assist in debris removal and whatever else is needed.
"We asked for assistance because the duration of this year's flood fight was exceptional," McEvers said.
The National Guard will be assisting in curb-to-curb cleanup to get primary and secondary levees out of the way in order to allow for more normal travel throughout the city. Some members of the Minnesota National Guard's 849th Mobility Augmentation Company will be among the soldiers heading in to assist Minot. McEvers said this unit served with him while he was mobilized to Iraq with the 164th Engineer Battalion in 2007 and 2008.
"It's funny how things come full circle like that," McEvers said. "I think it's always great to work with other units, in and out of state. It develops the bond between National Guard soldiers."
In past years, the North Dakota National Guard has used EMAC to bring in additional aviation assets, such as large CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the Minnesota National Guard, to assist during flooding. The dual-rotor aircraft are able to place as many as six one-ton sandbags at a time. This speeds response during emergency situations, such as when the Clausen Springs Dam, near Kathryn, N.D., was quickly eroding in 2009. That same year, when North Dakota saw statewide flooding and 2,000 North Dakota Guardsmen on duty at the peak of operations, the force was bolstered with an additional 250 Minnesota Guardsmen on the ground, as well as 350 Soldiers from the South Dakota National Guard.
The EMAC process works both ways, with North Dakota Guardsmen having assisted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and in response to California wildfires. While the compact gives states necessary assistance during emergencies and disasters, the responders also gain from the experiences that come from a real-world response.
No presidential disaster declaration is needed to launch an EMAC; rather, a governor's emergency declaration will suffice to use the system to bring additional resources, which are funded by the requesting state. A state's resources need not be exhausted to activate EMAC, either. The compact often allows simply for different resources to be made available as the emergency situation dictates.
In North Dakota, the Department of Emergency Services manages EMACs, which are used by all state agencies, civilian and military.
During any stateside emergency that necessitates activation of the North Dakota National Guard, soldiers and airmen work closely with civilian responders and emergency managers in order to supplement one another's special skills and training. Through EMAC, abilities and capabilities are enhanced by bringing in resources from outside of North Dakota's boundaries.
Because of the assistance being provided from the Minnesota Soldiers, many of the North Dakota Guard members will be able to return to their civilian jobs after a long stretch of flood duty. The complete release of the Soldiers from Minot will be dependent on how quickly river flows can be reduced and flood waters recede.
"Ideally, we are the last ones in and the first ones out," McEvers said of the military involvement in state disaster response. "After assisting with flood-relief efforts in Jamestown, Valley City, Bismarck and now Minot, many Soldiers are looking forward to having all the water back where it's supposed to be."
Currently, more than 600 North Dakota National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are involved on state flood-response duty in the Bismarck-Mandan and Minot areas.
Another 100 active duty airmen from the Minot Air Force Base are supporting those efforts.
| Date Taken: | 07.05.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2011 16:25 |
| Story ID: | 73256 |
| Location: | MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 146 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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