CAMP MABRY, Austin, Texas (Army News Service, June 28, 2007) - Texas National Guard members and their equipment remain on alert to assist local and state authorities as heavy thunderstorms causing floods all across Texas continue.
"Ground transportation force packages" have been dispatched. Each package consists of about 30 Soldiers, 10 high-profile (2.5- or five-ton) trucks along with various support vehicles, including Humvees, a fuel truck, a wreck truck, "water buffalos" and generators.
Approximately 150 Soldiers and 50 pieces of equipment have supported police and fire chiefs in Eastland, Sherman, Denton, Alliance Airport, Gainesville, Liberty Hill/Cedar Park, Horseshoe Bend, Marble Falls, Waco, San Antonio and Waco.
Last night in cooperation with their Texas Department of Public Safety partners, Black Hawk personnel lifted 14 civilians and two family pets in Smithwick to safety by flying them to a shelter in Marble Falls Middle School.
Ground support packages have in many instances gone house-to-house to make sure residents inside were alright or assisted incident commanders with evacuations.
This is not the first time this year that Gov. Rick Perry deployed the Texas National Guard. During the 2006-2007 wildfires, Texas Military Forces aviators fought flames with their Texas Forest Service partners, and the El Paso flood saw many Airmen and Soldiers out and about assisting neighbors.
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