Florence floods post with sailors

By Elyssa Vondra (Fort Jackson)September 20, 2018

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(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Hurricane Florence had grown Fort Jackson's populace by nearly 1,973 personnel and 43 pets as naval personnel and their families made their way to the installation, seeking shelter from the storm.

Navy students of Joint Base Charleston arrived in droves Sept. 13, as part of a memorandum of agreement.

The final count showed 1,821 Navy members found refuge at Fort Jackson. Sixty-three Family members and their 42 pets, all cats and dogs, came in tow.

Governor Henry McMaster's evacuation orders for Charleston brought them to the installation. Pouring out of buses, vans and cars, they were processed at the Joe E. Mann building Sept. 11-12.

Fort Jackson's Emergency Family Assistance Center equipped the space for the occasion, bringing in agencies from around post to help.

Sailors filled out a Needs Assessment form, went through a weapons check and had their pets' microchips scanned. They were sent across post to "safe havens" to sleep, said Danielle Hanson, Army Community Service Deployment and Stability Support Operations Specialist.

Lt. j.g. Arne Albin Anderson, originally of Arlington Heights, Illinois, is one member of the Navy who drove in from Charleston. He assisted with the administrative process.

"The story began on Saturday," Anderson said. That was when McMaster declared a State of Emergency.

Having lived through Hurricanes Irma and Matthew, Anderson didn't partake in doomsday preparations for Florence.

Those hurricanes "didn't end up being that bad," he said.

He waited calmly as others raided Walmart for bread and water.

As of Sept. 10, there were still no plans to leave Charleston, he said. By Sept. 11, the evacuation orders had come in.

By Sept. 12, he and his crewmates were on their way to Fort Jackson.