Pennsylvania continues to aid communities hard hit last week by Hurricane Sandy. The latest contribution is an Air National Guard Unit sent to help with fuel distribution.
The state has three Air National Guard Wings, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Horsham. The 193rd Special Operations Wing left Fort Indiantown Gap today with five fuel tankers headed to New York City.
These Airmen with their vehicles know they're going to Brooklyn, but they don't know the exact mission. The deployment could last seven to ten days but before they left the vehicles had to be altered for civilian use.
Col. John Dickinson of the 193rd Special Operations Wing says they had to make some changes to fit the mission they were sent on. "These vehicles that are going to support this mission are designed to refuel heavy equipment so they have high flow nozzles on them. Most of them are filled with diesel fuel. So we had to retrofit them and put different hoses and nozzles on them. We had to change out all the filters and some minor tweaks to get them ready. We're ready to go."
That changeover took the Airmen less than four hours. Before leaving the Gap, they reported to the second floor of a barracks office. There they were able to vote.
"Very important. It's very important to all of us. It's our commander-in-chief. That is very, very, very important to us," said John Hikes of the 193rd Special Operations Wing.
Pennsylvania has deployed nearly five hundred Air and Army National Guard Troops to New Jersey and New York. Missions include fuel distribution, communications restoration, food and supplies distribution and law enforcement support.
The state has three Air National Guard Wings, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Horsham. The 193rd Special Operations Wing left Fort Indiantown Gap today with five fuel tankers headed to New York City.
These Airmen with their vehicles know they're going to Brooklyn, but they don't know the exact mission. The deployment could last seven to ten days but before they left the vehicles had to be altered for civilian use.
Col. John Dickinson of the 193rd Special Operations Wing says they had to make some changes to fit the mission they were sent on. "These vehicles that are going to support this mission are designed to refuel heavy equipment so they have high flow nozzles on them. Most of them are filled with diesel fuel. So we had to retrofit them and put different hoses and nozzles on them. We had to change out all the filters and some minor tweaks to get them ready. We're ready to go."
That changeover took the Airmen less than four hours. Before leaving the Gap, they reported to the second floor of a barracks office. There they were able to vote.
"Very important. It's very important to all of us. It's our commander-in-chief. That is very, very, very important to us," said John Hikes of the 193rd Special Operations Wing.
Pennsylvania has deployed nearly five hundred Air and Army National Guard Troops to New Jersey and New York. Missions include fuel distribution, communications restoration, food and supplies distribution and law enforcement support.