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(Lincoln, NE) Gov. Dave Heineman announced today that 18 Nebraska Air National Guard security forces specialists will deploy Friday, Sept. 9, for duty in Mississippi as part of the U.S. military’s ongoing Joint Task Force Katrina operations.
The deploying members of the Lincoln-based 155th Security Forces Squadron will depart the Nebraska National Guard air base in Lincoln aboard an Air Guard KC-135 Stratotanker at approximately 1 p.m. The airmen will be based out of Gulfport, Miss., and will provide convoy escort and quick-response capabilities for Long Beach and Gulfport.
The additional missions bring the Hurricane Katrina relief participation of Nebraska National Guard forces to approximately 165 Army and Air Guardsmen and women.
Nebraska National Guard efforts in Mississippi and Louisiana include the following:
* Approximately 45 members of the Army National Guard’s Omaha-based 192nd Law and Enforcement Detachment, providing security at seven American Red Cross distribution centers in Baton Rouge, La.
* Sixteen members and two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Lincoln-based 24th Medical Company (air ambulance) are operating in New Orleans out of Belle Chasse Naval Air Station, providing hoist rescue and patient transport. As of Wednesday, Guardsmen and women had transported 21 patients to other medical facilities and had rescued 17 civilians in New Orleans.
* Two members of the Guard’s Lincoln-based 72nd Civil Support Team are operating in New Orleans (central district), supporting efforts to build military communication infrastructure in the destroyed areas of New Orleans.
* Eight members of the Nebraska National Guard’s Counter-drug Task Force are supporting local law enforcement efforts by using light armored vehicles to transport civil authorities and rescue civilians. As of Wednesday, Guardsmen and women had supported 18 SWAT missions, recovered 279 civilians trapped in homes, and had completed 21 supply support missions in New Orleans.
* Additionally, approximately 80 members of the 155th Air Refueling Wing delivered 66,000 Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) to New Orleans, Sept. 1-2. The Air Guard flew a total of four flights during the two-day relief flight mission.
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