The Arkansas National Guard has announced that over 500 Arkansas Army National Guardsmen from the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 142nd Field Artillery Brigade will deploy to Louisiana to assist with emergency response efforts following Hurricane Ida.
The 142nd FAB will rally at Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center in Fort Smith tomorrow, Aug. 31, departing Tuesday afternoon. It will provide Guardsmen equipped and trained to conduct high-water rescue and recovery operations, and local unarmed security and traffic control. The 39th IBCT will rally at multiple armories across the state on Wednesday, Sept. 1, and depart Wednesday afternoon. It will provide Guardsmen equipped and trained in route clearance operations.Both units will convoy to Minden, La., to obtain their assignments from the Louisiana National Guard.
Ida made landfall early Sunday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane. The Louisiana National Guard requested an Emergency Management Assistance Compact with the Arkansas National Guard, providing two multi-functional battalion headquarters and four multi-functional companies or batteries of approximately 900 Guardsmen.
Both units will each have a forward support company to provide maintenance support and to conduct other tasks, as assigned.
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