R.I. National Guard off to Bahamas to lend a hand
First of 3 aircraft sent as part of hurricane disaster relief mission
The Rhode Island National Guard sent three of its C130J transport aircraft out of its Quonset Point Air National Guard Station to Florida Saturday, as the first leg of a planned relief mission to the Hurricane Dorian-ravaged Bahamas.
The humanitarian response and disaster relief assignment was given to the Rhode Island National Guard unit in part due to a close relationship with the Royal Bahamian Defence Force that was forged through the National Guard’s State Partnership program back in 2005. The program teams up state Guard units with counterpart military organizations in other countries to share training and skills in a wide ranges of areas.
“The Rhode Island National Guard is always prepared to provide support in times of crisis. Due to the nature of our partnership, we are well equipped to assist the people of the Bahamas during this time,” Major General Christopher Callahan, state adjutant
general of the Rhode Island National Guard, noted while announcing the upcoming mission.
“We share a unique bond with the Bahamians, so we are especially thankful for the opportunity to help them in the wake of Hurricane Dorian,” Major General Callahan said.
Dorian was a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest rating, while it slowed over the Bahamas during the weekend with winds topping 185 miles an hour and reported storm surges in some sections of the island nation ranging from 12 to 18 feet.
Thus far, the death toll of Dorian in the Bahamas stands at 30 people confirmed killed, but the number could climb further according to reports as the recovery effort continues. Dorian, significantly weakened, continued to churn in the Atlantic as Category 1 storm and passed far off the shore of Rhode Island Saturday.
The three R.I. Air National Guard transport and cargo aircraft heading south took along a contingent of 40 Guard members, including air crews and support personnel, according to Officer Candidate Allie Curtis, a public affairs officer at the Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters in Cranston.
“As of now, the movement of the unit will be from Rhode Island to a staging base in Florida,” Curtis said. The R.I. Guard had initially planned to send its planes out on Friday but air traffic arriving at the Florida staging location postponed the trip until Saturday, Curtis explained.
At the staging base, the Rhode Island unit will await further word on mission assignments to the Bahamas and the locations they will be assisting, according to Curtis.
“They will be working predominately on the transporting of personnel, support supplies and equipment,” Curtis said. Curtis the Rhode Island relief contingent would learn more about the role it will undertake once it is in Florida, she noted.
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a country located on an archipelago of 700 islands spread over 100,000 square miles to the north of Cuba and southeast of South Florida.
Dorian tracked through the northeastern section of the islands and caused the most severe scenes of utter destruction on Grand Bahama Island and Abaco Island where almost all of the buildings and homes were leveled or heavily damaged.
The immediate need after the storm was drinking water and medical supplies as officials noted nearly 70,000 people on the two islands had no clean drinking water supply as a result of the destruction and loss of their homes.
The partnership the Rhode Island Guard has developed with the Bahamas sent Rhode Islanders to the islands and Bahamians to Rhode Island in the past for joint training in disaster preparedness, cybersecurity, civil disturbance, policing techniques, medical, engineering, marine and aviation capabilities.
Last year, Rhode Island Guard members jointed their Royal Bahamian Defence Force counterparts at the Tradewinds 2018 exercise where the participants from around the Caribbean sought to improve response techniques for natural disasters and maritime threats.
Curtis said the Rhode Island Guard’s past work with its Bahamian counterparts put a role in the relief effort as a natural priority for the local Guard.
“We wanted to be involved because the relationships we have developed with the folks in that region,” Curtis said.