Tennessee National Guard prepared to assist Harvey relief effort if called

NASHVILLE, Tenn. –  Soldiers and Airmen of the Tenn. National Guard stand ready to assist the citizens of Texas, if called upon, with their relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.  However, to date there have been no official requests for such assistance.

“We’ve conducted the necessary planning to ready our forces on what we think we could best provide by way of support to our brothers and sisters in Texas but must wait patiently for the call”, said Maj. Gen. Max Haston, Tennessee’s Adjutant General.  “I have been in constant contact with the national command authority and have kept Governor Haslam and his staff informed on possible deployments.”

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency is the link between the Guard and Texas on the facilitation of state controlled resources dedicated for disaster relief response, especially when those resources cross borders.  TEMA is the lead agency for the Emergency Management Assistance Compact process which allows any state to request needed disaster support.

TEMA Director, Patrick Sheehan, said, "We are in constant communication with local, state, and federal entities and are ready to coordinate and deploy resources to Texas if and when they are requested.”

The Tenn. National Guard is the sixth largest Guard state among the 54 states and territories with a wide range of Army and Air capability.  This capability is properly balanced to accomplish both aspects of the Guard’s dual mission at home and abroad.