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Arkansas Guard gets first call for support in preparation for Gustave ~ Over 40 Guardsmen heading to Louisiana to provide Airspace Management

Checking the signal. Tech. Sgt. Bill Smith, left, practices aligning a satellite with the help of Staff Sgt. Scott Roach. The men are members of the Arkansas Air Guard’s 154th Weather Flight, which provided weather support to the Arkansas Army Guard’s 1st Battalion, 114th Security and Support during their recent annual training. The 154th is tasked to support the 114th by providing weather briefings and forecasts as well as providing resource protection for the airfield during the unit’s state active duty mission in preparation for Hurricane Gustave. (Photo by 2nd Lt. Theresa L. Walker, 119th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

Communication needs. Sgt. Shaun Taurone, from Dover, Ark., explains his training experience within the tactical operations center for flight operations with the 77th Aviation Brigade’s 1st Battalion of the 114th
Security and Support. The unit The 114th is tasked to provide airspace management and command and control of all aviation assets supporting the relief effort in Louisiana if required as a result of Hurricane Gustave. The mission is part of an agreement that was pre-arranged between the two states in preparation for hurricane season. (Photo by 2nd Lt. Theresa L. Walker, 119th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

The Arkansas National Guard received its first official call for support in preparation for Hurricane Gustave late last night. The Camp Robinson based 1st Battalion, 114th Security and Support of the 77th Aviation Brigade will deploy over 40 Soldiers to Louisiana as part of an agreement that was pre-arranged between the two states in preparation for hurricane season. Four to five Airmen from the Arkansas Guard’s 154th Weather Flight, from the Little Rock Air Force Base, will deploy with the team in support of the operation.

The 114th is tasked to provide airspace management and command and control of all aviation assets supporting the relief effort if required. The 154th is tasked to support the 114th by providing weather briefings and forecasts as well as providing resource protection for the airfield.

The troops are anticipated to depart for their initial staging area at Camp Beauregard, located in Pineville, Louisiana, on Saturday, August 30. The initial commitment for this state active duty mission is 30 days. This is the 59th State Active Duty mission for the Arkansas National Guard this year.

In preparation for another potential mission, Arkansas’ Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center, near Fort Smith, has identified they can provide temporary emergency sheltering operations for up to 4,000 evacuees at this time without adversely affecting the installation’s primary mission.

With the support of federal, state and emergency responders, Chaffee’s role would potentially include evacuee reception and accountability, housing and shelter, subsistence, medical care, transportation, information management, public safety along with command and control of all operations through the establishment of an emergency operations center.

Chaffee is coordinating with the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and other outside agencies that would be required to support the mission. The majority of the required military support personnel are already available to assist at Fort Chaffee if needed. The remaining personnel requirements would most likely be filled by either the 142nd Fires Brigade or the 188th Fighter Wing there in northwest Arkansas.

The state has a detailed operations plan in place to support all operations, many of which were either developed or improved through the lessons learned with Hurricane Katrina when over 10,000 evacuees were processed through the post.

Over 10,000 Soldiers and Airmen strong, the Arkansas Guard strives to maintain a minimum of 50 percent of that force in the state at all times. Today, with over 3,000 Arkansas troops deployed overseas, approximately 6,000 remain available for response in support of civil authorities as needed for a variety of missions here in the state or as needed elsewhere.