DVIDS – News – New York National Guard ready for impact of Hurricane Henri

As Hurricane Henri moved toward Long Island on Saturday, August 21, the New York National Guard mobilized 485 soldiers and airmen to respond to damage from the storm.

Forecasts indicated that heavy rains, high winds and gusts of 65 miles per hour could hit eastern Long Island. There was also a chance that heavy rains would also hit the Hudson Valley and the Albany area.

Instead, Henri made landfall around Watch Hill, Rhode Island.

“We were lucky,” said Air National Guard Lt. Col. Glyn Weir, commander of the Long Island response force. “The hurricane’s track was supposed to hit the base directly, (but) the impact was minimal.”

The Long Island task force consisted of 139 Soldiers and Airmen working jointly at the Air National Guard base at Westhampton Beach and the Armed Forces Reserve Center at Farmingdale. This allowed teams to cover any eventuality in central or eastern Suffolk County on Long Island.

The working group was composed of members of regional units; the 106th Rescue Wing; 105th Airlift Wing, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation; 1st battalion, 69th infantry; 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion; and the 1156th Engineer Company to provide debris clearance, high axle vehicle support and general purpose forces capabilities.

Troops from the Farmingdale Armed Forces Reserve Center were organized into a 10-person clearing team at the Farmingdale Armed Forces Reserve Center with two skid steers and two dump trucks; and two 20-person “high-axle” immediate response forces, one with four FMTV trucks and a humveee and anther with five FMTV trucks.

At the Gabreski Air National Guard base, there was a 10-person debris clearance team with two skid steers and two dump trucks and a “high-axle” immediate response force with two FMTV trucks. and three humvees.

“This was my first time as a joint task force commander,” said Weir, who commands the 106th Rescue Wing Logistics Readiness Squadron. “It was great to have emergency operations staff who knew all of their roles and responsibilities. They made sure the process went smoothly, ”he said.

“We had 100% volunteers (wing aviators) for the debris cleaning mission and command and control,” he added.

The only request for support for Gabreski’s team came from New York State Police L-Troop in Brentwood. The Troopers have requested that a team of Humvees be available in case motorists are stranded in flooding on the Long Island Expressway.

“General morale was high when we got the job of helping the state police,” Weir said. “It was a positive boost for the soldiers who volunteered. They were given the mission of helping their local community.
Going on active duty in the state was a new experience for the Air National Guard sergeant major. Sarah Caicedo, a member of the 106th Rescue Wing Logistics Readiness Squadron.

“It was nice to know that we were called to help our local community,” said Caicedo. “It was my first national emergency activation since joining (in 2017). I was deployed to Africa earlier this year for four months, but I made this commitment: to serve my community.

“It is part of our core values ​​to put service before you,” said Caicedo.

In the Hudson Valley, 250 soldiers and airmen were mobilized to the Camp Smith training site near Peekskill. 50 other soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division were put into service at the Troy Armory.

The Camp Smith team consisted of an initial engineering response force of 20, equipped with a loader, two skid steer loaders and two dump trucks.
About sixty administrative and logistical staff were also on duty to support the mission.

Troops stood ready to assist local authorities even as the threat of hurricane-force winds diminished and the threat of heavy rains and flooding became of greatest concern.

On Monday, August 23, the state announced that Henry’s total precipitation had exceeded 7 inches in Brooklyn and Central Park, more than 6 inches in Queens and 3 to 4 inches in Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau counties. Power outages remained low statewide, with about 2,000 without power after the storm.

Although there have been reports of roads closed and cars stranded due to flooding, as well as downed trees and cables in several places, city and county emergency officials had efforts to intervention in hand. Members of the New York National Guard were released and resumed normal duties on August 23.

Even for a narrowly averted hurricane, the experience of the guards and women providing rapid response and capabilities builds confidence, said Airman 1st Class Adonys Arguetta Flores, another member of the 106th Rescue Wing who had previously served in COVID-19 response efforts.

“It was my first hurricane mission since arriving,” said Arguetta Flores, “and I expected it to be a lot worse, but I was glad it wasn’t.”

“The activation caught me off guard,” said Arguetta Flores. “I was called late Friday night and reported Saturday night, but as a guard we are trained to be always ready to respond to a local emergency at any time.”

Arguetta Flores, also from Long Island, was posted as a humvee driver for the response forces and was staged at Westhampton Beach Air Force Base.

“It was a short mission but a great experience to help my local community,” he said.