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Obama Pledges All Resources Oklahoma Needs

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the ongoing response to the devastating tornadoes and severe weather that impacted Oklahoma, in the State Dining Room of the White House, May 21, 2013. Vice President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino participated in the news conference.

White House photo by Chuck Kennedy

The American people will stand with their fellow citizens in Oklahoma, President Barack Obama said today from the White House. The president issued a disaster declaration to expedite resources to support the immediate response. “The people of Moore [Okla.] should know that their country will remain on the ground, there for them, beside them as long as it takes,” Obama said.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Army General Martin E. Dempsey Becomes 18th. Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

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Start/stop Specials Slideshow Disaster Relief: Oklahoma TornadoesSexual Assault - Awareness and PreventionMilitary RiderAsian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - 20132014 Defense Budget ProposalUnited States Northern CommandSequestration: Across-the-Board Budget Cuts Could Threaten National SecurityTraumatic Brain InjuryDefense IntelligenceBiosurveillanceMilitary Family SupportCybersecurityDOD Science & Technology News

Featured Photos More »

  • Oklahoma National Guard soldiers, airmen, civilian firefighters and policemen search for survivors through the rubble of a building that was devastated by a tornado that killed dozens of people in Moore, Okla., May 20, 2013. The guardsmen are assigned to the 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 146th Air Support Operations Squadron. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kendall James
  • Two firefighters break through concrete during the search for survivors in the remains of the Plaza Towers Elementary School that was devastated by a tornado that killed dozens of people in Moore, Okla., May 20, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Army Maj. Geoff Legler
  • An Oklahoma National Guard soldier and firefighter search for survivors through the rubble of a building that was devastated by a tornado that killed dozens of people in Moore, Okla., May 20, 2013. The guardsman is assigned to the 700th Brigade Support Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kendall James
  • U.S. Army Sgt. Zach Smola, rear door gunner on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter keeps watch on the mountains in the Chorah district of Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, May 12, 2013. Smola is assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment, Connecticut and Pennsylvania Army National Guard. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jessi Ann McCormick
  • As seen through a night-vision device, U.S. soldiers work with CH-47 Chinook helicopter crews during a sling-load operation on Jalalabad Airfield in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, May 10, 2013. The helicopter crews are assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, and the soldiers are assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's 426th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class John D. Brown
  • U.S. paratroopers demonstrate their enemy prisoner-of-war handling techniques to Indian soldiers as part of partnered field training during Yudh Abhyas 2013 on Fort Bragg, N.C., May 8, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod
  • U.S. Navy Seabees compete in a fire truck pull exercise during a fitness and health fair on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, May 15, 2013. The service members, Defense Department civilian workers and contractors participated in the fitness and health fair, which included the 200-foot fire truck pull by six-person teams. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Diana Quinlan
  • Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2016 navigate an obstacle course during the U.S. Naval Academy Sea Trials at Annapolis, Md., May 14, 2013. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Todd Frantom
  • U.S. Army Pfc. Danny Norman cleans a vehicle during a vehicle decontamination exercise in support of Ardent Sentry in Varnville, S.C., May 19, 2013. Conway is a chemical operations specialist assigned to the 108th Chemical Company, South Carolina Army National Guard. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Erica Knight
  • A Standard Missile-3 Block 1B interceptor missile is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie during a Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Navy test in the Pacific Ocean, May 16, 2013. The SM-3 Block 1B successfully intercepted a target missile that had been launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands in Kauai, Hawaii. Lake Erie detected and tracked the target with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar. U.S. Navy photo
  • Soldiers take cover as a grenade explodes in an enemy bunker during exercise Bronco Rumble on Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, May 9, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brian Erickson
  • Soldiers move toward an enemy objective during exercise Bronco Rumble on Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, May 9, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brian Erickson
  • Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joins the services' senior enlisted advisors in paying respects during an Armed Forces Day wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 18, 2013. DOD photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sun L. Vega
  • Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, join senior enlisted advisors representing each service branch for an inaugural wreath-laying ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery, Va., May 18, 2013. DOD photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt Sun L. Vega
Start/stop Featured Photo Gallery Slideshow SURVIVOR SEARCHSEARCH FOR SURVIVORSTORNADO RECOVERYDAYTIME SLING LOADSLING LOADHANDLING TECHNIQUESTRUCK PULLPLEBE CLIMBVEHICLE DECONTAMINATIONTEST LAUNCHTAKING COVERSOLDIERS ADVANCEARMED FORCES DAYENLISTED ADVISORS

The Pentagon Channel

  • Video Thumbnail: Oklahoma Tornado Coverage

    Oklahoma Tornado Coverage

    ©2013- Oklahoma National Guard is in Moore, Oklahoma...

  • Video Thumbnail: Obama: Nation's "Full Focus" on Oklahoma Recovery

    Obama: Nation's "Full Focus" on Oklahoma Recovery

    © 2013 - Commander in Chief Obama says federal...

  • Video Thumbnail: National Guardsmen Join Search for Oklahoma Survivors

    National Guardsmen Join Search for Oklahoma Survivors

    © 2013 - One of the first National Guard Soldiers on...

  • Video Thumbnail: Guardsmen Respond to OK Tornadoes

    Guardsmen Respond to OK Tornadoes

    ©2013- Oklahoma National Guardsmen are assisting with...

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May. 21, 2013

Senior Army Guard Leader Describes Tornado Response

Some 250 Oklahoma National Guard members are helping with recovery efforts after a massive tornado pounded an Oklahoma City suburb, killing at least 24 people and leaving neighborhoods, homes and businesses flattened or twisted, a senior Army National Guard leader said.Story

May. 21, 2013

Obama Pledges All Resources Oklahoma Needs

The American people will stand with their fellow citizens in Oklahoma, President Barack Obama said at the White House.Story

May. 21, 2013

Oklahoma National Guard Responds in Tornado Relief Effort

Nearly 250 members of the Oklahoma National Guard are assisting with victim search and security in Moore, Okla., where a monster tornado left at least 24 dead, including nine children, authorities said.Story