Alaska Sends Guard to Fla.
- Details
- Category: News
- Created on Thursday, 10 October 2024 15:22
- Hits: 384
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
The state of Alaska is sending 50 National Guardsmen to Florida to help that state recover from hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“We are moving forward with planning and preparations with the intention of sending them via commercial air by the end of the week,” said Alan Brown, director of communications for the Alaska National Guard.
Disaster-relief staff with the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs have already traveled east to help North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the department.
A two-person operations support team is working with the state operations center, he said, and today a four-person team was headed east to help an individual county’s disaster recovery.
The state also sent two volunteer agency liaisons — people in charge of connecting organizations that provide help with disaster victims who need it.
One of those liaisons is in Florida, the other is in Virginia, he said.
“We have other requests coming in from the states that were affected by the hurricanes,” Zidek said. “We’re going to look at our staffing needs in Alaska … we’ll send whatever support we can.”
Alaska is a participant in the 50-state Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which allows states to share staff in case of disaster.
Zidek said the program is beneficial for everyone who participates. Alaska disaster-recovery staff get experience dealing with problems, and recipients of the aid benefit from having more hands on site.
“In Alaska, we get a tremendous amount of experience because we experience disasters on such a regular basis,” he said.
That makes Alaskans particularly helpful in the field, and they return skills to the state.
Zidek said he’s personally deployed four times to other states, learning in the process.
“Each time, I’ve brought back something that can help Alaska,” he said.
––––––––––––––
https://alaskabeacon.com/james-brooks
Login Form
20 YEARS AGO
October 2004
Photo caption: Public Health Nurse Penny Lehmann presents the October Faces of Public Health awards. From left are recipients Wilma Blood, Sarah Jordan, Debra Lyons, Sandy Jones, Stephanie Brenner, Susan Suarez and Ronda Anderson.
50 YEARS AGO
October 1974
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens outlined to an audience of over 300 Pioneers of Alaska members the programs he’s working on to preserve the Alaska historical heritage and to ease the plight of the elderly. ... He spoke at the Centennial Building at the banquet concluding the Pioneers of Alaska convention here.
Calendar
