NASHVILLE, Tenn. — More than 100 engineers from the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard have continued to support recovery operations in East Tennessee which have been impacted by severe flooding following Hurricane Helene. Guardsmen are working with state, county, and local emergency personnel to remove flood and storm debris in Carter, Cocke, Greene, Unicoi, and Washington counties. The engineers are organized into a task force comprised of personnel from across Tennessee.
Using bulldozers, dump trucks, chain saws and other equipment, engineers have helped clear roads and other critical locations so emergency managers can provide services to the affected areas.
“Our Guardsmen are doing everything possible to help open roads, provide access to needed public and emergency facilities, and make the area safe,” said Maj. Christian Yoder, Executive Officer for the 230th Engineer Battalion. “We have an amazing team of combat and horizontal engineers using bull dozers, bobcats, and everything available to load our dump trucks removing debris.”
All task force missions being conducting are managed through the local emergency managers at the request of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. These engineers are part of nearly 400 Tennessee Guardsmen currently supporting relief efforts in East Tennessee.
“This is a joint operation between the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard and every engineer out here volunteered to help.” said Maj. Yoder.
