After a series of ferocious tornadoes tore through the Midwest and South on Friday, leaving at least 32 people dead and causing widespread destruction in Little Rock, some 200 Guardsmen from the Arkansas National Guard were mobilized to help.
The Guardsmen are assisting with traffic control and security efforts after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency. The troops come from units with the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 87th Troop Command, and 77th Theater Aviation Brigade and operate in Jacksonville, Wynne and Little Rock, a Guard spokesperson told Military.com.
The deployment comes as National Guard units have faced a seemingly endless set of crises, all while the Pentagon continues to build its presence in Europe and Africa while juggling holdover missions from the Global War on Terrorism era in the Middle East.
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The Guardsmen helping in tornado response are on state active duty, or SAD, orders, a mechanism in which Guardsmen fall under the governor effectively as state contractors. During those orders, troops do not accrue any military benefits such as the GI Bill or access to generous home loans backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. They also cannot claim any disability through the VA if hurt on duty and have no federal protection if their civilian employers retaliate against them for taking off work to serve in uniform.
Though federal assistance is opening up to Arkansas, it's unclear whether Guardsmen will be placed on federal orders -- which could significantly boost their pay.
The role Guardsmen play in assisting with natural disasters is expected to continually ramp up as the impacts of climate change make severe weather more frequent.
Meanwhile, the National Guard juggles its overseas obligations, with some 20,000 Guardsmen deployed abroad at a given time, according to data from the National Guard Bureau. The Ohio National Guard's 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team currently has the most significant footprints in combat zones, with some 1,800 troops in Iraq and Syria.
-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
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