LIDGERWOOD, N.D. - Nine National Guardsmen were called out as a part of a quick reaction force to assist in expanding the dike in Lidgerwood Thursday. The Soldiers, who serve with the 188th Engineer Company in Wahpeton, N.D., reacted to an early morning increase in overland flooding that threatened the southern part of town.
Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Porter, the operations sergeant in charge of National Guard operations in Richland County, said he received a call at 7:20 a.m. requesting National Guard assistance in preventing a complete dike breach.
The Soldiers began by applying pre-filled sandbags to the dike, and then brought in three 5-ton dump trucks to haul clay for Comstock contractors to advance the height of the dike. It was a cooperative operation among the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Comstock and North Dakota National Guard members that successfully stopped the breach and built up the dike.
"If we weren't out here this morning flipping sandbags, we would have lost the dike," said Staff Sgt. Jon V. Benedict, of Wahpeton. "Water was rising and spilling over in places."
Benedict, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the quick response force, said the team spent the morning unloading 25 tons of sandbags while the trucks hauled sandbags in to support the dike. The Lidgerwood-Wyndmere Fire Department also was assisting in sandbagging operations.
"We're here to give the Comstock engineers any assets they need or could use," Benedict said. "Everything's going really smoothly."
Porter said they saved the town of Walcott, N.D., from similar circumstances on Wednesday, and by Thursday they were on to help Lidgerwood.
"We are on a roll," Porter, of Wahpeton, said.
Benedict said, had the dike been breached it would have taken out the retirement center and then spread through town, but the quick response of Guard members coordinated with civilian assistance had everything safely handled.
According to Porter, two trucks loaded with sandbags remain in reserve for the expected continued overland flooding from the Wild Rice and Bois de Sioux River over the next week.
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Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 3,500 Soldiers and more than 1,800 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Currently, about 800 North Dakota Guardsmen are serving overseas. With a total force of about 4,400 Soldiers and Airmen, sufficient forces remain in the state for emergency response and homeland defense.
<u>Photos</u>
High-resolution photos to accompany this release are available on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/ndguard. Navigate to the photo set titled "Lidgerwood Flooding."
<u>Video</u>
Video to accompany this release can be viewed at www.youtube.com/NDNationalGuard.
<u>For more information:</u>
Small Crew of Soldiers Keeps Traffic Moving as Lisbon Prepares for Flooding (3/17/2010) www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/SoldiersKeepTrafficMoving.aspx
Guardsmen Install Flood Barrier Never Before Used in Fargo (3/17/2010) www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/GuardsmenInstallAquaFence.aspx
Guardsmen Volunteer to Help a Deployed Soldier's Family (3/17/2010) www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/GuardsmenhelpFamily.aspx
Sandbagging Major Focus of Day 2 Flood Operations (3/16/2010) www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/SandbaggingMajorFocusofDay2FloodOperations.aspx
N.D. National Guard Personnel Mobilized for Flood Duty (3/15/2010)
www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/NDNationalGuardPersonnelMobilizedforFloodDuty.aspx
North Dakota's Military Police Prepare for Potential Flood (3/8/2010)
www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/NorthDakota%E2%80%99sMilitaryPolicePrepareforPotentialFlood.aspx
Guard Prepares for Potential Flooding Through Exercise (2/7/2010)
www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/10-025.aspx
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