Roughly 1,000 active duty troops were ordered to deploy to North Carolina Wednesday to help with response efforts to Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest and most destructive storms in U.S. history, the White House said Wednesday. Those active-duty troops will join 6,500 National Guard soldiers from 15 states already deployed or headed towards Helene’s path.
President Joe Biden ordered the Army to send an Infantry Battalion Task Force from Fort Liberty, North Carolina to the region made up of 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers and other units, the Pentagon said in a statement. The soldiers will help bring food, water and supplies to “impacted and isolated communities” as well as assist with supply logistics at staging locations and removing debris from affected routes, the Pentagon said.
The active duty soldiers will join efforts already underway by thousands of members of the National Guard who have been in North Carolina and other affected regions since the storm’s early hours, according to the National Guard Bureau. Guard units from the 15 states with over 500 vehicles have been assisting in search and rescue, debris clearance, transportation over broken roads and aid distribution.
Three dozen National Guard helicopters have been flying in and out of flood-stranded regions, officials said, along with a North Carolina Air National Guard C-17 transport aircraft.
According to National Guard officials, troops deployed due to Helene as of Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024 include:
- Florida: 3,100
- Georgia: 1,500
- North Carolina: 760
- South Carolina: 730
- Tennessee: 280
- Virginia: 60
- Alabama: 13
- Connecticut: 5
- Iowa: 7
- Indiana: 11
- Kentucky: 11
- Maryland: 12
- New York: 29
- Ohio: 16
- Pennsylvania: 26
The states sending smaller contingents of guardsmen are part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a national partnership agreement that allows state-to-state assistance during declared emergencies. Their response also includes 15 aircraft.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tapped Brig. Gen. Charles Morrison from the North Carolina Army National Guard as the dual-status commander of the response over both the federal and state troops in North Carolina.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon cited Hurricane Helene response help from Army and Navy helicopters moving personnel and supplies where road access is unavailable or not viable; Air Force aircraft helping with search and rescue; Army soldiers and high wheeled vehicles moving personnel and supplies over damaged roads; and the Army Corps of Engineers teams supporting debris removal, water and wastewater management, and bridge inspections.
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