National Guard leaves from Shelbyville for Florida mission

A team of Hoosier National Guardsmen has deployed for Florida from the Shelbyville armory.

According to the Indiana National Guard, more than a dozen soldiers, three flight crews and mechanics, along with two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters with the 38th Infantry Division’s aviation brigade, left yesterday to assist military and civilian agencies in logistics and reconnaissance missions.

Lt. Col. Scott Oden, the Indiana National Guard’s director of aviation and safety, said “This is what Hoosiers do, help our neighbors when called upon, whether it’s here in Indiana or the Sunshine State.”

The request for forces came through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a foundation for sharing resources between states.

Indiana National Guard soldiers and airmen have a history of responding to severe weather. The Guard responded to two hurricane relief efforts in 2017 following Harvey in Texas and Irma in Florida, and again in 2018 following Florence in North Carolina. Most recently the Guard responded to severe snowstorms in Indiana in February.