(PANAMA CITY, FL) Nearly 200 Soldiers from the 753rd Brigade Engineer Battalion received the call to respond to Hurricane Michael Monday evening. Over the next 24 hours the Soldiers reported to National Guard Armories in Lake City, Tallahassee, and Quincy, and by Tuesday morning Alpha and Bravo Company were ready to move out.
Within less than 24 hours, by 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the Brigade made movement to a shelter at Rutherford High School, their first area of operation in Panama City. There they set up base camp with the 153rd Cavalry Regiment.
Cadet Emily Dwyer, the platoon leader’s assistant said, “That’s where we actually took the hit from hurricane Michael. We were sharing a shelter with civilians and the eye just missed us, and then we were hit with the wall of the storm. The roof from our station almost came off and rain came through the ceiling.”
That didn’t stop the 753rd from responding to Floridians. They immediately made movement to a different high school and stayed for the night. In the morning they went out and began clearing the streets of Panama City.
2LT Teal Hunter, Officer in Charge, said route clearance can be required for many situations, from clearing a suspected IED on or near the road or for clearing debris from roads during a hurricane. Our purpose is to improve and enable movement in any situation.
“We have a great unit and have Soldiers who are excited to be here and who genuinely want to help,” said Dwyer.
“We’re actually here boots on ground helping people out seeing what we’re doing having an impact on the civilians around us.”