Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday mobilized 1,000 active-duty soldiers to assist in recovery and relief efforts in communities hit by Hurricane Helene — one of the most devastating storms in recent history.
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, said in a statement that the troops were requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. The 1,000 troops, an Infantry Battalion Task Force formed from the XVIII Airborne Corps, are from the 82nd Airborne Division and other units from Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
“These soldiers are assembling and moving to the affected areas within the next 24 hours, and will join other service members from the Department of Defense who are already supporting FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene,” Ryder said in the statement.
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The activation of the active-duty troops comes as the death toll from Hurricane Helene continues to climb. CNN reported Wednesday that at least 180 people have been killed in the storm’s aftermath, making it the second-deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.
Those active-duty forces will be bringing water, fuel and mechanics to assist in FEMA’s operations.
“Their mission will include delivering support and commodities to impacted and isolated communities, assisting with supply point logistics at commodity staging locations, and removing debris from affected routes,” Ryder said in the statement.
Since Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Friday in Florida, more than 6,500 National Guardsmen have been deployed in response to the initial damage as well as the crushing aftermath and surge flooding across the Southeast.
Ryder detailed during a press briefing on Tuesday that Florida has nearly 3,500 Guardsmen activated, Georgia mobilized around 1,400 Guardsmen, and South Carolina has around 500 Guardsmen assisting the efforts.
Additionally, Tennessee has 130 Guardsmen and seven helicopters assisting, and Virginia has activated nearly 60 Guardsmen along with one helicopter and numerous high-water vehicles, he said.
Also, 80 Guardsmen and 13 helicopters from Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, New York, South Carolina and Florida are assisting more than 800 North Carolina Guardsmen with communities in the Tar Heel State.
Helene has also caused headaches for numerous military bases throughout the Southeast.
Military.com reported this week that Fort Eisenhower, Georgia, was without water and full power, forcing some troops and their dependents to evacuate.
Similarly, Moody Air Force Base in Georgia was closed to non-essential personnel on Wednesday and issued a limited evacuation order allowing some troops and their families to “temporarily relocate due to uninhabitable living conditions,” the base wrote on Facebook.
“While regular power and communication capabilities are starting to return, we know there’s more work ahead,” Moody Air Force Base said in a Facebook post. “Our experts are pushing through day and night to restore us to normal operations as quickly as possible.”
On Friday, Military.com also reported following the main effect of Helene that some bases such as MacDill Air Force Base in Florida were also facing electrical outages and debris.
Many of the base services at MacDill were starting to reopen slowly.
“As we return to normal operations, please take note that we are still focused on recovery operations and getting back to a pre-hurricane normal,” Col. Edward Szczepanik, the commander of the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, said in a Facebook video Tuesday.
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