The United States Army
10/09/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/10/2024 12:56
Oklahoma Guard Supports Hurricane Relief in South Carolina
[Link] An Oklahoma Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook is readied by Oklahoma National Guard members at the OKARNG Aviation Support Facility in Lexington, Oklahoma, Oct. 6, 2024, before deploying to South Carolina in support of Hurricane Helene relief efforts. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Ivan Diaz) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)VIEW ORIGINAL
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma National Guard is supporting Hurricane Helene relief efforts in South Carolina at the direction of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and with approval from Gov. Kevin Stitt.
The North Carolina Department of Emergency Management submitted, through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a request to Oklahoma for one CH-47 Chinook helicopter with hoist equipment and aircrew to support Task Force South in Greenville, South Carolina.
EMAC is a national mutual aid system that allows states to send personnel, equipment and other commodities to help disaster relief efforts in other states.
In recent years, the Oklahoma National Guard has supported EMAC requests in California, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico, including Hurricane Harvey relief in 2017.
The helicopter and its crew of Oklahoma Guardsmen arrived in Greenville Oct. 6 and will be activated through Oct. 24.
The crew, comprised of highly skilled pilots, flight engineers and support personnel, will work closely with federal, state and local authorities to coordinate relief missions.
The CH-47's heavy-lift capabilities make it ideal for missions like this. The Chinook can move large loads rapidly.
The Oklahoma National Guard's CH-47s have been deployed extensively in domestic relief efforts, most recently to support tornado recovery efforts in Oklahoma and in Louisiana in 2023 through an EMAC request to support wildfire suppression operations.
Before receiving North Carolina's EMAC request, the Oklahoma National Guard supported Hurricane Helene recovery efforts remotely. The Oklahoma National Guard Office of Family Programs provided support to the Florida National Guard by contacting and offering resource referral assistance to more than 750 Florida National Guardsmen and their families affected by the storm.