Connecticut National Guard Assists Floridians After Hurricane Irma

Connecticut is deploying 22 additional Connecticut National Guardsmen to provide support for Hurricane Irma relief efforts, announced Gov. Dannel Malloy over the weekend.

The 400-mile-wide storm, which packed winds in excess of 100 mph, wound its way through the Tampa-St. Petersburg area Monday morning, and though the storm had been downgraded, it had still knocked out power to about 4 million people throughout Florida.

"Officials are preparing to assist Floridians who may need a great deal of help during the immediate response and recovery from this storm," said Gov. Malloy in a statement. "Connecticut stands ready to assist our friends and neighbors in the Sunshine State in the days, weeks and months to come. The men and women of the Connecticut National Guard are an invaluable resource during severe storms and we are grateful for service."

Added Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, "While we can't prevent the destruction from Hurricane Irma, Connecticut knows first-hand just how important it is to get restoration efforts underway as soon as possible after the storm. Getting supplies and resources into the state quickly will help speed recovery and get the state's economy running again. I commend the Connecticut National Guard on their readiness and thank them for their service. Our thoughts are with the residents of Florida."

Fourteen Connecticut Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 169th General Support Aviation Battalion, headquartered in Windsor Locks, departed with two Connecticut Army National Guard CH-47F Chinook helicopters, manned by soldiers trained as rotary-wing pilots, helicopter crew members and maintenance personnel. The crew will stage just north of Florida to provide a rapid response.

"When there are people in need, time and time again the Guard stands up and answers the call," said Maj. General Thaddeus Martin, commander of the Connecticut National Guard. "As we continue to pray for those affected by these weather events, we want each of them to know that the Guardsmen of Connecticut supporting these relief efforts will remain on duty until the job is done."

A C-130H Hercules with a crew of eight Airmen is headed to Andrews Air Force Base, where it will stage in anticipation of future support missions.

These two missions bring the total number of Connecticut Guardsmen supporting hurricane relief efforts to 31. Eight are currently awaiting further orders after delivering provisions to Puerto Rico, where they arrived safely last night. One member of the Connecticut Air National Guard is conducting Command Post operations at Joint Base San Antonio, supporting the tracking and controlling of air missions. Timetables for unit returns remain undetermined.

The Governor’s office, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) and Connecticut National Guard continue to monitor requests for assistance in the impacted areas. First responders and the general public are reminded to not self-dispatch to the affected areas. If individuals would like to help the areas impacted by Harvey and Irma, please consider signing up to be a Red Cross volunteer at http://www.redcross.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer.