About half of the nearly 60 members from the Ohio Army National Guard’s 285th Medical Company (Area Support) arrived home Nov. 16 at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, with the rest of the contingent returning on a separate flight the following day.
The 285th ASMC, based in Columbus, flew to Puerto Rico on Oct. 3 and 5. The combat medics assisted more than 2,000 patients at four different locations, including the cities of Ponce and Manati, as part of the relief response following Hurricane Maria. Operating in two, 12-hour shifts around the clock, members of the unit also went into the mountains for daily outreach missions to help residents who couldn’t make it to the city.
Since the first hurricane made landfall in August, more than 400 men and women of the Ohio National Guard have been engaged with rescue and relief efforts in Texas, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
The Ohio National Guard has more than 16,000 personnel and is the nation’s fourth-largest National Guard. The Ohio National Guard responds with ready units and personnel when called for federal, state and community missions, and is an operational reserve of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.