National Guard Ready to Respond to El Nino

Alarmed by the flooding and damage that last weekend’s ferocious storm caused in Orange County, California National Guard officials Thursday announced their plan to respond quickly during El Nino-related weather emergencies.

The plan calls for three response teams of 1,000 soldiers each to react in the event of a major catastrophe, such as widespread flooding or mudslides. These troops can be reinforced with additional soldiers and equipment.

Despite the damage the rains caused last weekend, National Guard troops were not needed because local defense agencies responded effectively, Col. William Wade said.

“The plan becomes operational only when mutual aid within a county or area is not enough to deal with the problem,” he said. “We can respond with assistance. All it would take is a declaration of a disaster, but not necessarily from the governor’s office. Local officials can request our help too.”

The Los Alamitos-based 40th Infantry Division has called its planned response to El Nino-related emergencies “Operation Silver Lining.” Troops will be able to work as many as 60 consecutive days in two areas of the state at the same time. Authorities have allocated hundreds of vehicles and 41 aircraft, including helicopters and four-engine planes.

“I feel confident that we can respond in two regions at the same time to fight flooding,” said Wade, who drafted the Guard plan. “We proved we could do it earlier this year, when we responded to flooding and mudslides in Northern California and flooding in the San Joaquin Delta at the same time.”

Although they are working with a budget that has been cut 25% in the last five years, Guard officials insist they can still respond effectively to any emergency.

But maintaining a high state of readiness has not been easy, said Maj. David Nickles, in charge of ensuring there are enough spare parts for the Guard’s vehicles, aircraft and other equipment. The Pentagon has cut the California National Guard’s funding for spare parts 75% since 1993, from $10.1 million to $2.6 million.

“Our [spare parts] budget is critically short, but not yet at the point where we can’t maintain readiness,” Nickles said.

While Guard troops were not used in last weekend’s storm, three members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary evacuated coastal residents stranded in flooded homes.