National Guard Conducts Hurricane Training In Brunswick County

OAK ISLAND, NC (04/06/2011)(readMedia)-- North Carolina National Guard units from Morrisville, Salisbury and Fort Bragg, along with state and Brunswick County emergency management officials, emergency medical rescuers and state and local law enforcement, kicked off a 15-day hurricane preparedness exercise this week from a headquarters set up at the Cape Fear Regional Jetport here.

Dubbed "Operation Coastal Surge," the event centers around the use and support of National Guard LH-72 Lakota and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters, which would airlift supplies and emergency management personnel to hard-hit areas in the wake of a hurricane. Guard Soldiers and emergency managers will practice those skills as well as Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (HART) techniques that allow these aircraft to pick up survivors stranded in vehicles surrounded by water and unreachable by rescuers over land. The HART training will take place next week at White Lake and Bay Tree Lake.

The National Guard has stationed more than 100 Soldiers at a temporary military base erected on the grounds of the Jetport. The Guard has brought all the equipment and people needed to operate a remote helicopter base anywhere in the state or around the world. The temporary base includes National Guard firefighters, a tactical control tower and portable radar system for air traffic control, a dining facility housed in a tent and trucks and other equipment for fueling helicopters.

Hurricane season officially beings June 1 and ends Nov. 30. The exercise is designed to streamline hurricane response operations, enhance the ability of National Guard Soldiers work with state and local emergency management agencies and reduce the amount of time it takes for rescuers to respond in a disaster. "Operation Coastal Surge" began April 2 and ends April 16.

Fact Sheet:

SCENARIO: A category five hurricane has hit coastal North Carolina in the area of Brunswick County. The governor has called on the North Carolina National Guard to provide helicopters to airlift emergency management officials and critical supplies such as food, water and medicine into the hardest-hit parts of the disaster zone. The Guard has provided more than 100 Soldiers and six helicopters for the mission and has set up a temporary base at the Cape Fear Regional Jetport on Oak Island. The Guard is working with the emergency managers from the state and Brunswick County, along with emergency medical rescuers and state and local law enforcement. Further logistics support is based at the Kinston Regional Jetport in Kinston, N.C.

MISSION: Conduct aviation, ground support, rescue hoist and sling load operations in the vicinity of Brunswick County, N.C., in order to prepare for disaster-relief operations. The intent is for North Carolina National Guard aviation assets to be able to respond quickly to any emergency in North Carolina and to establish a working relationship with state and federal agencies.

AIRCRAFT: Four LH-72 Lakota and two OH-58 Kiowa helicopters.

CAPABILITIES: Logistics support for all aspects of airfield operations to include aircraft parking and security, firefighting, fueling, motor pool, air traffic control to include instrument approach capabilities, communications and a dining facility. Participating aircraft are equipped with rescue hoists for use with the North Carolina Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team as well as the ability to sling load large amounts of supplies for airlift into isolated areas.

PARTICIPATING NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD UNITS:

• Detachment 1, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment stationed in Morrisville, N.C.

• 2nd Airfield Operations Battalion, 130th Aviation Regiment, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

• 430th Engineer Detachment (Firefighting) based in Salisbury, N.C.

• 677th Engineer Detachment (Firefighting) based in Morrisville, N.C.

DURATION OF THE EXERCISE: "Operation Coastal Surge" began April 2 and ends April 16.