Oklahoma National Guard supports Hurricane Helene relief efforts

OKLAHOMA CITY At the direction of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and with approval from Governor Kevin Stitt, the Oklahoma National Guard is supporting Hurricane Helene relief efforts in South Carolina.

The North Carolina Department of Emergency Management submitted, through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a request to Oklahoma for one CH-47 Chinook helicopter with hoist equipment and aircrew to support Task Force South in Greensville, South Carolina.

EMAC is a national mutual aid system that allows states to send personnel, equipment and other commodities to help disaster relief efforts in other states.

In recent years, the Oklahoma National Guard has supported EMAC requests in California, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico to include Hurricane Harvey relief in 2017.

The helicopter and its crew of Oklahoma Guardsmen arrived in Greensville, South Carolina on Sunday and will be activated through October 24.

The crew, comprised of highly skilled pilots, flight engineers, and support personnel, will work closely with federal, state and local authorities to coordinate relief missions.

The CH-47’s heavy-lift capabilities make it ideal for missions like this due to its ability to quickly move large loads. The Oklahoma National Guard’s CH-47s have been deployed extensively in domestic relief efforts, most recently to support tornado recovery efforts in Oklahoma, but also in Louisiana in 2023 through an EMAC request to support wildfire suppression operations.

Prior to receiving North Carolina’s EMAC request, the Oklahoma National Guard had been supporting Hurricane Helene recovery efforts remotely. The Oklahoma National Guard Office of Family Programs provided support to the Florida National Guard by contacting and offering resource referral assistance to more than 750 Florida National Guardsmen and their families affected by the storm.

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