Live Oak, Florida. (August 14, 2024): If you are a National Guard Soldier serving in Florida, you know things are going to get dicey in the next few months. With the recent arrival of Hurricane Debby, the Florida National Guard has deployed across the state to support local communities and to help citizens in trouble. In this photo by Sergeant First Class Trinity Bierley, Soldiers from the 868th Engineer Company conduct a high-water rescue operation following flooding from Hurricane Debby. Florida’s Governor activated some 3,000 National Guard Soldiers on August 1^st to prepare for the storm while declaring a state of emergency for sixty-one Florida Counties.

The deployment began with Soldiers from the 927^th CSSB setting up shop in the State’s Logistics Resource Center, a facility that stores water, food, and other emergency supplies for distribution after the storm makes landfall. Additionally, the Guard’s 1^st Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment, prepared Black Hawk helicopters at the Tallahassee International Airport for support operations across the state. Other units, such as the 1-265th Air Defense Artillery Battalion, conducted route clearing and debris removal on city streets and supported an assisted living facility with its elderly and frail residents.

The Florida National Guard traces its heritage to 1565, the year the Spanish founders of St. Augustine organized their first company of citizen-Soldiers. Florida’s militia has defended local communities for over 440 years. The current Florida Army National Guard was established in 1907 and boasts almost 12,000 members including 450 state employees and nine hundred full-time Federal personnel. The Guard is made up of both Army and Air Force units and is headquartered at St. Augustine on the east coast.

The Army component includes the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 50th Regional Support Group, the 83rd Troop Command, and the 164^th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. The Guard also runs Camp Blanding, a Joint Training Center located outside of Jacksonville. The Air component includes the 125th Fighter Wing and the 101st Air and Space Operations Group.

National Guard members train one weekend (three to four days) per month plus an additional two to four weeks of annual training. In addition to the Governor, the President can activate the National Guard to participate in federal missions like Iraq or Afghanistan. National Guard troops can expect to be deployed once every two to three years for six to 15 months.

Florida residents can take comfort in knowing their National Guard is highly trained and ready to respond to whatever disasters may come.