By: Cindy Gonzalez – October 10, 2024
Nebraska Examiner Press Release
LINCOLN — About 150 Nebraska National Guard soldiers and airmen will be on their way to Florida at the end of this week to assist in emergency response operations related to Hurricane Milton.
Gov. Jim Pillen, in a statement Thursday, said that he ordered the deployment in response to an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request from the State of Florida to provide support following Milton’s landfall on the state’s west coast.
The mission — expected to last about two weeks — is being coordinated through the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.
Pillen said the dangerous storm will require a strong and coordinated recovery effort.
“Nebraska is proud to support Florida and the resources from other states that are being brought to bear in assisting storm-impacted residents,” he said.
The volunteers will come from multiple units across the Nebraska National Guard. After processing at Camp Ashland, they’ll drive to Florida’s Camp Blanding, arriving this weekend.
The Nebraskans will be sent to areas of need, as determined by Florida National Guard and emergency response officials.
“Over the past several decades, the Nebraska National Guard has responded multiple times to requests from Gulf Coast states for assistance in responding to the natural disasters caused by historic hurricanes,” said Maj. Gen. Craig Strong, Nebraska National Guard adjutant general and NEMA director. “As Florida prepares to respond to this unfolding natural disaster, the Nebraska National Guard is proud to provide assistance once again to our neighbors and friends in need.”
Meanwhile, other Nebraska crews are in the Southeast to aid in hurricane recovery efforts.
Those include a group from the Nebraska Public Power District, which on Oct. 3 sent a 15-person crew of mostly technicians to work on power restoration in the Augusta, Georgia, area.
On Thursday, the crew wrapped up assistance to Georgia Power and was to head to Florida to help in efforts being coordinated by the Orlando Utility Commission, said Grant Otten, NPPD spokesman.
NPPD crews assisting in the mutual aid came from Ainsworth, Atkinson, Bassett, Chadron, Humboldt, Kearney, Lexington, Norfolk, O’Neill, Plattsmouth and Ravenna.
