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Guardsmen Rush to Help Fellow Citizens

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Nebraska National Guardsmen have performed 107 aerial rescues of people stranded by unprecedented flooding in the state and also helped to evacuate people and pets via ground transport in recent days.

National Guard members attach sandbags to be carried by a helicopter in slings.
Sandbag Sling
A Nebraska Army National Guard ground crew conducts sling load operations with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Nemaha, Neb., March 18, 2019. The Nebraska National Guard is part of a larger effort responding to historic floods throughout Nebraska.
Photo By: Nebraska Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Koan Nissen
VIRIN: 190318-Z-IV597-206C

Army Lt. Col. Kevin Hynes, a spokesman for the Nebraska Guard, said about 250 National Guardsmen are actively working to respond to the historic flooding.

Guardsmen remain on standby for rescue operations and are working traffic control points, conducting sandbagging operations and even dropping hay out of helicopters to feed cattle stranded by the flood waters.

Airmen fill sandbags.
Sandbag Shuffle
Armen fill sandbags at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., during preparations for anticipated flooding of the base, March 16, 2019. An increase in water levels of surrounding rivers and waterways caused by record-setting snowfall over the winter, in addition to a large drop in air pressure, caused widespread flooding across Nebraska.
Photo By: Air Force Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake
VIRIN: 190316-F-IT794-1026C

The Guard is working "as part of a multi-agency effort at the state and federal level," Hynes said.

The area of operations is throughout eastern Nebraska.

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