NC National Guard juggles COVID, Middle East, GOP convention — and now hurricanes
National Guard units across the country are busier than ever amid the pandemic — perhaps none more so than North Carolina’s forces.
Over the last 60 days, more than 900 members of the North Carolina National Guard have assisted with the state’s response to the coronavirus. Others are preparing to assist the city of Charlotte during the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled for late August. And 2,500 of the state’s forces are deployed in the Middle East.
On top of all that, hurricane season in the region starts Monday.
“We have a saying, whether it’s a predicted high season, or a predicted low season — it only takes one category 5 hurricane to hit North Carolina,” said Maj. Matthew Boyle, a spokesman for the North Carolina National Guard.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting this will be a high season, with as many as 13 to 19 named storms developing in the Atlantic, and potentially as many as six becoming major hurricanes.
North Carolina Guardsmen will hold their annual hurricane response preparation exercise next week. This years’ exercise will be virtual due to COVID-19, and will emphasize not only the readiness of the Guard’s high-water vehicles, but also the accessibility of PPE for service members who may be called up to respond to a storm.
There are a total of 10,500 North Carolina National Guard members. Boyle said the last two months of supporting the state’s coronavirus response has trained those forces on how to remain protected while operating.
“While COVID-19 adds a new dimension to our response, the North Carolina National Guard is fully capable to support operations such as: shelter operations, commodity transportation and distribution, stranded motorist and flood victim rescue,” Boyle said.
The preparation is similar to what is happening in other hurricane-prone states, where they are incorporating coronavirus into their planning. More than 46,000 National Guard forces are still supporting COVID-19 response across the country. It’s the largest domestic Guard deployment since Hurricane Katrina.
“The National Guard is as busy as it’s been for a very long time,” said Gen. Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that he would extend federal orders for the National Guard through mid-August. The extension was seen as an important gesture to forces that would have been sent home just short of the 90-day deployment mark which makes them eligible for education and early retirement benefits.
In Louisiana, 12 percent of the state’s National Guard force has been called up to respond to the high number of coronavirus cases that hit the state, with more than 39,000 reported cases and 2,500 deaths. Another 130 forces are deployed overseas.
The Guard has been holding ongoing workshops with the Louisiana Department of Health on hurricane preparations. Part of that prep work includes pre-staging PPE in warehouses in case the Guard needs to assist in a mass evacuation for the state, such as it did in the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, or in a more localized evacuation, such as if a storm threatens a hospital, said Louisiana Army National Guard spokeswoman Maj. Noel Collins.
Collins said the coronavirus has also shaped how they would respond to a storm. The Guardsmen will deploy with masks and hand sanitizer, and they will require more vehicles so as to abide by social distancing guidelines.
“Two or three high-water vehicles will be used instead of one vehicle,” Collins said.
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 5:27 PM.
