Missouri National Guard to help with oil spill cleanup

The Missouri National Guard is sending assistance to Louisiana this week to help with cleanup efforts from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to a news release from Gov. Jay Nixon's office, the Guard will send at least one Black Hawk helicopter and crew along with 10 to 15 aircraft maintenance personnel. Guard members are expected to provide transport service including daily insertion and extraction of response personnel to various sites, according to the release.

Missouri National Guard members are no strangers to the Gulf area, having helped with rebuilding efforts following hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005 and Gustav  in 2008.

"These are the most seasoned citizen-soldiers and airmen in the history of the Guard,” Brig. Gen. Stephen Danner said in the release. “After nearly nine years of deployments to support overseas contingency operations and more than a dozen state emergency missions in the same time frame, we’re ready to step up to any challenge.”

Missouri and other states are activating their National Guard troops under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, established in 1996, which allows help from other states to be brought in to assist in a wide range of natural and man-made disasters, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]