Mississippi’s Camp Shelby to be staging area for Hurricane Ida relief efforts in Louisiana
Published 8:51 am Thursday, September 2, 2021
Camp Shelby, south of Hattiesburg, will serve as a staging area for FEMA members as they prepare to deliver disaster relief efforts into Louisiana.
According to a press release from the Mississippi National Guard, Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center is supporting the combined effort serving as a Joint Reception Staging and Onward Integration site for members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as they prepare to move disaster relief efforts into Louisiana. FEMA Director Deanne Criswell joined Gov. Tate Reeves during a press conference today highlighting the multiple resources posturing and deploying in support of the citizens of Louisiana. The Mississippi National Guard is also providing lodging support to Georgia National Guard Soldiers as they forward deploy in support of the combined disaster relief effort in Louisiana.
Today approximately 250 soldiers representing the Mississippi National Guard are deploying for emergency response missions in Louisiana. After a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration was approved for Louisiana and Mississippi, and at the request of the state of Louisiana, Gov. Tate Reeves approved the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request for assistance on Monday as Hurricane Ida was making its way through North Mississippi.
Mississippi National Guard Soldiers from various companies in the 112th Military Police Battalion and the 223rd Engineer Battalion join forces to provide essential trained personnel to assist the state of Louisiana by providing vital emergency relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Soldiers will provide emergency debris removal and logistical distribution of vital supplies including food and water to the citizens of Louisiana after Sunday’s storm.
Inter-agency coordination between the Louisiana Office of Emergency Services, the Louisiana National Guard, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the supporting Mississippi National Guard forces, played a vital role leading up to the preparation and staging of deployed military support.
