In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Navy has ordered three ships to sail off the shores of New York in case federal emergency responders need off-shore support as they continue clean up efforts.
On Oct. 30, "the helicopter carrier USS Wasp (LHD 1), which was already at sea riding out the storm, began to head north to be better positioned," Rear Adm. James Kirby, chief of information for the Navy, wrote on a Navy website.
On Oct. 31, "the fleet commander ordered two other amphibious ships, USS San Antonio (LPD-17) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50), to get underway and likewise head north … however these ships have not been officially tasked to provide support," Kirby wrote.
The Navy, like the rest of the U.S. military, is often tasked with supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency in disaster-relief efforts. Navy ships can serve as floating airports as well as provide airlift and SEABEE construction-battalion support.
More than 7,400 citizen-soldiers and airmen had been mobilized in 11 states at the East Coast since 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 30 to respond to hurricane Sandy.
According to the National Guard Coordination Center, the responders assembled and staged in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia. Their mission include providing support at evacuation shelters, route clearance, search and rescue, and delivery of essential equipment and supplies.
“Additional Army Guard forces, from outside the immediate hurricane affected states, are prepared to meet gaps in essential functions, if requested,” Army Lt Gen William E. Ingram, Jr., director of the Army National Guard, said in a news release on DoDLive.mil.
As each affected area continues to monitor, assess, and respond as needed, the National Guard Bureau officials do their part in monitoring and coordinating from the federal level. On Sunday, Army Gen. Frank Grass, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, briefed President Barack Obama on the National Guard response in support of state, local and federal agencies.
The National Guard said other states were also extending assistance for rescue operations and relief efforts. A Nevada National Guard 152nd Airlift Wing C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft and crew departed on Monday for Moffett Field, California to pick up a rescue boat, truck, and several Guardian Angel Pararescue Airmen from the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard.
”What we provide to FEMA and the state governors at their request is just a myriad of support and response and rescue capabilities, so that they can pick and choose what they need, and they know they’ll have it,” says Lt. Col. Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman. “We can go anywhere in the country and get it quickly if they don’t have it.”
That begins with the raw manpower of the National Guard. Even before Sandy made landfall this week, more than 61,000 National Guardsmen were standing by to lend a hand to civilian authorities. Now, those who have been activated are helping state police and local fire departments with rescues, debris removal, and evacuation of hospitals.
Meanwhile, cargo planes help emergency officials move pieces around the chessboard. On Thursday, the US military sent C-5 and C-17 planes to California to pick up “civilian power vehicles” to bring to New York, adds Colonel Crosson. This included “bucket trucks” and pickups to help work on the downed lines and power grids in New York and New Jersey.
The military also has its own high water vehicles and Humvees to get into isolated areas.
For its part, the Army Corps of Engineers has “fanned out” throughout affected areas to see what kind of expertise it can lend to affected states. “The Corps has been very aggressive,” said Mr. Little.
This expertise has included helping to restore power to the “several million households” on the East Coast that remain without electricity, according to Little.
Another top priority has been assessing and starting to clean out flooded tunnels, homes, and electrical substations. “The Army Corps of Engineers has a great deal of experience in what they call ‘unwatering,’ which involves pumping water out of tunnels and other sites,” he added.
To this end, nine small assistance teams are at tunnels throughout New York, “working with city officials and engineers to determine what’s needed to get that water out,” Crosson says.
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