Soldiers work together with the Fairview community to assess damage after Hurricane Helene in North Carolina on Oct. 5, 2024. (Alison Strout/U.S. Army)
ATLANTA — More than 1,500 active-duty soldiers on Monday were clearing routes, helping repair damage and delivering food and water to storm survivors in western North Carolina who faced some of Hurricane Helene’s worst destruction, military officials said.
Soldiers deployed into the North Carolina mountains in recent days came from the 82nd Airborne Division and the 20th Engineer Brigade at Fort Liberty, N.C., and the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., according to the 18th Airborne Corps, which oversees those units.
The troops include the roughly 1,000 soldiers from Fort Liberty announced last week by the Pentagon who would deploy to help people struggling in North Carolina from Helene’s rampage.
Army officials said the soldiers were using 15 helicopters and 60 infantry squad vehicles to move troops and supplies throughout Asheville, N.C., and its surrounding communities. Those areas were left devastated by massive flooding, landslides and wind damage caused by Helene in the days after the hurricane’s landfall as a Category 4 storm near Florida’s Big Bend region on Sept. 26.
“I am incredibly proud of what our soldiers of the 18th Airborne Corps are doing to assist our fellow citizens of North Carolina in support of the North Carolina National Guard, FEMA, [non-governmental organizations], first responders and other volunteer organizations,” Army Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the 18th Airborne Corp’s commander, said in a statement.
The active-duty soldiers joined more than 6,000 Army and Air National Guard troops from some 18 states in responding to the deadly hurricane that left a trail of damage across the southeastern United States. Helene’s destruction path crossed parts of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. The storm has been blamed for more than 230 deaths, according to The Associated Press.
A New York National Guard soldier works with public works employees to offload food and water at the Jackson County Airport in Sylva, N.C., on Oct. 1, 2024. (Jeff Sacco/U.S. Army)
Soldiers conduct route reconaissance while assessing damage from Hurricane Helene in Fairview, N.C., on Oct. 5, 2024. (Alison Strout/U.S. Army)
Photos and videos posted in recent days on a Pentagon website show active-duty soldiers flying missions to deliver supplies via CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Helicopter-flying troops from the 82nd and 101st as well as the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were supporting airborne recovery operations, defense officials said Monday.
On the ground, the active-duty troops were working largely to provide supplies to affected communities. Soldiers provided 2,800 meals, 4,500 bottles of water and more than 85,000 pounds of cargo to North Carolina storm victims in Swannanoa, Pleasant Grove, Old Fort, Spruce Pine, Bakersville, Fairview and Emerald City during the weekend, the 18th Airborne Corps said.
National Guard troops were also continuing their response in affected areas in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North and South Carolina, a Guard spokesperson said Monday. Guard forces from those states and Alabama, Connecticut, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia were operating in the region Monday.
Those forces were using 50 helicopters, about 1,100 military vehicles and 16 boats to aid in the widespread response, according to the National Guard Bureau. Guard troops on Monday were engaged in highwater rescues, debris clearance and supply distribution, officials said.
The efforts come as Florida braces for another potentially devastating storm impact this week. Hurricane Milton, which grew to a Category 5 storm with winds surpassing 157 mph on Monday, was expected to strike the state’s western panhandle region Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The center’s latest projections predicted the storm would make landfall near Tampa, home to MacDill Air Force Base. Officials at MacDill — home to U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, and the Air Force’s 6th Air Mobility and 927th Air Refueling wings — closed the base to nonessential personnel on Monday afternoon after evacuating the base’s aircraft during the weekend. The base closed for several days before and after Helene’s landfall. That storm produced some flooding and scattered debris across the post, but left minimal permanent damage, officials there said.
A National Guard spokeswoman said Monday that it was too early to predict what kind of Guard response would be needed in Florida after Milton. Florida officials said they were preparing for the storm, and about 1,600 Florida National Guard troops remained on duty responding to Helene’s aftermath.
