VENICE, La. (May 13, 2010) -- Soldiers of the Louisiana National Guard's 1023rd Vertical Engineer Company, 528th Engineer Battalion, continued transporting water-diversion system materials from here yesterday in support of the shoreline protection mission near the southwest pass of the Mississippi River delta.

The water-diversion system replaces sandbags, and it's composed of a series of interlocking flexible tubes that are inflated with water to form a temporary dam or levee.

After transporting the material, the Soldiers will pre-position and construct 7.1 miles of the shoreline protection system along the southwest pass.

The 1023rd, with headquarters in Oak Grove, La., began preparing the equipment for transport by placing pallets into cargo nets to be wrapped for helicopter transport.

"Dealing with helicopter missions like this can be very dangerous," said 1st Lt. James G. Jones, executive officer for the 1023rd. "Safety is always paramount at a time like this."

This is a unique mission for the 1023rd, and morale is high among the soldiers.

"I'm very pleased with the great job we've been doing," said Sgt. Terrence L. Pleasant, heavy equipment operator. "We've been putting forth a great effort with all the missions that we've been tasked with."