Alaska National Guard to help with Hurricane Milton recovery

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Fifty active duty guardsmen from Alaska are heading to Florida to help the Florida National Guard in response to Hurricane Milton, which has left at least five people dead and a path of destruction this week.

The first wave of Alaska National Guardsmen is set to deploy Thursday afternoon, followed by more over the weekend. The response and recovery mission is slated to take 10 days.

Once in Jacksonville, Guardsmen will receive their specific assignment after a brief orientation at the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center.

While working alongside Floridian Guardsmen, they’ll offer assistance however possible.

“I am proud of our Guardsmen and state emergency operations teams for answering the call to help their fellow Americans through this challenging time,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a release Thursday.

This is not the first group of Alaskans to help with hurricane relief. Eight other emergency operations personnel from the Alaska Division of Homeland Security were sent to Florida, Virginia and North Carolina.

Emergency response in moments like this comes from the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. It’s a national agreement to share resources across state lines during times of disaster. EMAC aid offers an alternative to federal funding, or acts in addition to it, effectively allowing states who offer their help to be reimbursed while still employing Guardsmen or other assistants under their own state.

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