An Arkansas National Guard crew prepares their Black Hawk helicopter before leaving for Florida to aid hurricane relief efforts. (Screenshot from video by 1st Sgt. Jim Heuston)
A five-member Black Hawk helicopter crew from the Arkansas National Guard flew to Florida on Tuesday to help that state’s National Guard provide airlift support after Hurricane Milton makes landfall.
The National Weather Service classified the storm as a strong Category 4 Wednesday morning as it neared landfall near Tampa.
This will be the second storm in recent weeks for which the Arkansas Guard provided assistance. Arkansas military units sent more than 25,300 Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) to Georgia in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to help feed storm-affected civilians.
The Arkansas medevac helicopter crew’s 11-day mission to Florida will provide hoist and airlift support to ground-based search-and-rescue teams, according to a National Guard press release. The support is provided through an Emergency Management Assistance Compact between Florida and Arkansas.
“This is our first operational state active-duty mission for our newest model Black Hawk, the HH-60M,” said Brig. Gen Chad Bridges, Arkansas’ adjutant general. “It’s also the first time we’re going to operate outside the state with the Arkansas Urban Search and Rescue Task Force-1 team from central Arkansas who is sending four personnel. Our crews have trained rigorously with their civilian counterparts, and they’re well prepared to take on this vital mission once the hurricane has passed.”
The five-soldier helicopter crew includes two pilots, two crew chiefs and a medic. They were expected to stage overnight in the Florida panhandle before proceeding where directed by the Florida National Guard in the wake of Hurricane Milton, the press release said.
An Army fact sheet describes the HH-60M as a modernized version of the “legacy Black Hawk helicopter” designed to operate 24 hours a day in all weather conditions. The newer Black Hawk “features a new airframe, advanced digital avionics and a powerful propulsion system that can be used to perform tactical transport, utility, search and rescue, airborne assault, command and control, medical evacuation, aerial sustainment, disaster relief and firefighting missions,” the fact sheet says.