Members of the Tennessee National Guard have been deployed and their goal is to help clear the way for local first responders in East Tennessee.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Members of the Tennessee National Guard have been deployed and their goal is to help clear the way for local first responders in East Tennessee.
Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Smith, civil engineer squadron commander, said that the Tennessee National Guard has been on standby since Friday on behalf of Governor Bill Lee. Smith added that Lee had requested assistance through the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA).
“This definitely hits close to home because we’re talking about Tennesseans,” Smith said. “Our unit has been to as far away as Hurricane Maria providing support for that hurricane, but this is the first time that we’ve seen these kinds of impacts this far in that have got our own state’s people hurting.”
The flooding from Helene washed away roads, bridges and more in the region. Of the members of the Guard that are deploying, four civil engineers are among them. They’re bringing chainsaws, dump trucks and other equipment in effort to restore the eastern state.
The plan is for service members to team up with more troops in the impacted area to not only help residents, but area authorities as well. Technical sergeant Ryan Schulz is one of the civil engineers with the 118th wing and he told News 2 that heavy equipment could be used to rebuild roads or pick up debris.
“By us being there and being able to keep flows of travel open, it allows other first responders to get into places where maybe they couldn’t before,” Schulz said.
Some troops left Nashville around noon on Tuesday and additional troops will leave each day this week. They’re scheduled to be there for one week, but they’ll stay for as long as they’re needed.
“We’re always training to be ready and be capable and to finally get the opportunity to go out there and respond to people when they need help, it’s a good feeling,” Schulz added.