Augusta, Georgia. (September 30, 2024): Activated and commanded by the Governors of their respective States, America’s National Guard has come to the rescue of millions of Hurricane Helene victims and their efforts have just begun. In this photo by Specialist Ayanna Tillman, Georgia Army National Guard soldiers work with Georgia State Defense Force personnel to unload cases of water for distribution to hard hit neighborhoods. Currently, there are over 6,700 Guardsmen mobilized to provide response and recovery help, according to National Guard Bureau Officials. They also predict the recovery will likely be a long process.

After landfall near Tallahassee, Florida, Helene slammed into the Southeast including the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. As of this writing, 220 people are confirmed dead and hundreds are still missing. Survivors lack basic services like running water and electricity and many are isolated in remote towns where roads have disappeared and there is no cell service.

It has truly been a national response. Soldiers and Airmen from sixteen states have blanketed the area with patrols, helping clear debris, and rescuing stranded people with high water vehicles and boats. The troops delivered all manner of relief supplies to grateful neighbors using more than forty helicopters and over six hundred military vehicles. The Guard helped clear routes for local first responders and conducted numerous search and rescue operations.

The relief operation also includes some of America’s most elite units. The XVIII Airborne Corps deployed a thousand Soldiers to western North Carolina and the 82nd Airborne Division delivered food, water, and other critical aid to North Carolina.

This recovery promises to be long but America can be proud of the National Guard and their rapid response to this and other crises.