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© 2013 KentuckyGuard
Story by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
Spc. Timothy Smith with the 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry hands a case of water to Anne Cockley, a Red Cross volunteer at Green Hills Elementary School in Bledsoe, Ky., Feb. 24, 2015. The Soldiers assisted with water deliveries throughout Harlan County in response to a water shortage caused by a recent winter storm. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond)
HARLAN, Ky. — More than 100 Kentucky Guardsmen were activated this week to assist local communities following a devastating winter storm.
Snowfall totals in excess of two feet along with bitterly cold temperatures pushed counties in Eastern and Southern Kentucky to the brink. With 93 of Kentucky’s 120 counties declaring emergencies, Gov. Steve Beshear issued a state of emergency Feb. 16, opening the door for the Guard to assist.
Soldiers with the 201st Engineer Battalion helped clear more than 70 miles of roads in Lee County alone. Trucks from the 138th Field Artillery Brigade and 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade moved palletized water from Louisville to staging areas.
Spc. James Harmon with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry helps guide a pallet of water into a vehicle for distribution in Harlan, Ky., Feb. 24, 2015. The Guardsmen were able to supply distribution points across Harlan County to get the water closer to those in need. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Raymond)
In Harlan County, Soldiers with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry transported pallets of water to distribution points throughout the county following water system failures.
“We have the equipment to do the job,” said Staff Sgt. Terry Brock with Alpha Co. “We’ve been delivering water, clearing roads, shoveling driveways, helping people get to doctors, just helping out wherever we can.”
Brock, who lives in Harlan County, even had to deliver water to his own family on one of the unit’s runs. “It was good to help them out and to be in a spot to help out the whole county of Harlan too.”
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Frozen lines and pump failures knocked out the water to an estimated 45,000 households in Eastern Kentucky. Together with the snow, the rural mountain communities were impacted much worse than other parts of the state.
Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley said he has requested a lot of local and state resources throughout this process and finds it encouraging to find so many willing to help.
“The Guard has helped us out in a big way,” he said. “We would not have been able to set up so many distribution points if it wasn’t for the National Guard, the Red Cross and Operation UNITE. There would be a lot of people without water in their homes if it wasn’t for the Kentucky National Guard units doing what they’re doing here.”
Soldiers with the 201st Engineer Battalion work to remove snow from a road in Lee County, Ky., Feb. 19, 2015. The unit cleared more than 70 miles of snow following the winter storm that impacted much of Kentucky. (Photo courtesy of 201st Engineer Battalion)
According to Spc. James Harmon with Alpha Co., the unit was responsible for the delivery of more than 7,000 gallons of water. In coordination with the Red Cross, the Guardsmen supplied designated distribution points that were closer for citizens to pick up the water. Each run became similar to a wellness check as the Citizen-Soldiers recognized familiar faces and were able to judge the situation based upon the words of their own friends and locals they knew.
“I grew up here in Harlan, it’s a great community of people,” said Harmon. “I just helped deliver water to my old elementary school in Bledsoe. It’s why I enjoy being a part of the National Guard. We serve our Nation, but are also here to help our neighbors get back on their feet.”
Soldiers in the are also provided transportation assistance to emergency personnel, ensuring doctors, nurses and health care staff made it to work.
With more than 30 vehicles in use across the Commonwealth, the Guardsmen are expected to continue each mission through the week.
Check out some video of the Harlan County response mission below:
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Kentucky Emergency Management and National Guard personnel met with federal, state and local authorities on Mar. 8 to discuss the upcoming national level exercise. Photo courtesy Kentucky Emergency Management.
Frankfort, Ky. – While the earthquake in Japan is making front page news, authorities in Kentucky have already started working plans to confront a similar crisis when – not if – a similar event occurs here at home.
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Kentucky National Guard troops have developed a national reputation when it comes to disaster response, having supported such infamous emergencies such as the 1997 flood in Kentucky and the relief effort following Hurricane Katrina in the gulf. They now get to test their mettle in a national level exercise that will involve thousands of personnel across at least eight states.
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The exercise, which takes place the third week of May, will simulate an earthquake with a 7.2 magnitude on the Richter scale. The focus will be on the New Madrid fault line, a familiar scenario for earthquake watchers and emergency responders.
Brig. Gen. John Heltzel addresses the team during the Mar. 8 workshop. Photo courtesy Kentucky Emergency Management.
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“We’re here to plan on how we will save lives,” said Brig. Gen. John Heltzel, Kentucky Emergency Management director and the land forces commander for the Kentucky National Guard. Heltzel spoke during a workshop held in Frankfort on Mar. 8.
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“We are building bridges between those who will help and those who need help,” he said.
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KYEM and the Kentucky Guard will host the May exercise, which will include participants from most every state government agency, the American Red Cross, the Army Corps of Engineers, local civil authorities and numerous volunteer agencies. While just a few hundred Kentucky Guard Soldiers and Airmen will take part in the NLE, a real life event would most likely involve everyone in uniform.
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“We’ve been working on this scenario long before the earthquake in Japan,” said Col. Wayne Burd, project officer for the NLE. “We’re paying particular attention to the lessons learned there as well as the earthquakes in New Zealand and Chile.”
Col. Wayne Burd is the project officer for the upcoming National Level Exercise. Photo courtesy Kentucky Emergency Management.
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The 2009 winter storm, for example, required Gov. Steve Beshear to call up more than 4,000 Kentucky National Guard troops, the largest mobilization in the state’s history. A call up in support of a major earthquake would involve a much larger number of civilian and military resources across numerous states.
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The keys to success during a major event involving New Madrid, said Heltzel, “are to coordinate, collaborate and communicate. We need to respond with a massively parallel, decentralized action. Lives are at stake and we take that very seriously.”
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“The strength of the Guard is in our connection to the community,” said Burd. “We have units in more than fifty counties across the commonwealth and our troops live in just about every city and town. That gives us an extra incentive to get this right.”
The logistics team discusses their role in the national level exercise. Logistics played a major role in saving lives during the winter storm of 2009. Photo courtesy Kentucky Emergency Management.
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