Community

The Missouri National Guard

has been awarded for making communities across Missouri safer and healthier:

Our STATE MISSION is to provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise required by state law under the authority of the governor. Before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when most people thought of the Missouri National Guard, they typically pictured Guard members filling sandbags or helping transport effected citizens during the floods of 1993. Our role has expanded since 9/11, with Guard members continually serving around the world and around our country, but we retain a robust emergency response ability, as seen during recent emergencies like the record flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and the May tornado in Joplin.

In the past five years, the Missouri National Guard has responded to a wide range of state and national emergencies including flooding on the Mississippi and Missouri, the Joplin tornado and the 2011 Blizzard.

This WINTER STORM event in late January/early February 2011 affected 39 counties in the state dropping heavy amounts of snow closing roads and preventing emergency responders and critical personnel (hospital workers, etc) from performing their duties. The Missouri National Guard pre-positioned forces early for the impending storm and reacted to direct support requests from civil authorities during the 6 day event. At the height of the response, 853 guard men and women were mobilized for the response. The main guard activities centered around transporting first responders and key personnel with high mobility military vehicles but guard personnel also conducted health and wellness checks and transported some critical commodities.

LARGE AMOUNTS OF RAIN in Missouri and in the Ohio River Basin, coupled with earlier rain and snow melt in northern states, caused flash flooding and Mississippi River flooding in April and May of 2011. This affected 7 counties in the southeast portion of the state. Again, the Missouri National Guard pre-positioned forces for a response and reacted to support requests from civil authorities in those counties. At the height of the operation, which lasted for 30 days (21 April to 21 May), 771 guard personnel were mobilized. The primary missions the guard supported involved sandbagging, conducting health and wellness checks, supporting civilian evacuation efforts, and providing security support to local law enforcement.

On May 22, an incredibly destructive TORNADO ravaged the city of Joplin and surrounding communities. The Missouri National Guard mobilized 377 personnel, at the height of response, to assist civil authorities in conducting search and rescue, security operations (Traffic Control Points and Security Patrols), assisting with transport and establishment of the Mobile Medical Unit, and performing functions related with Memorial Activities/POTUS visit to honor the victims of the tornado. The Missouri National Guard was also charged with supervising and coordinating the debris clean-up in the area. In this regard, the Guard provided 45 personnel and developed debris clearance tracking mechanisms, liaised with municipal/state/federal partners, and resolved various contentious issues resulting in the removal (private property, titled property, etc). This effort is still on-going, but to date (21AUG), 1,531,582.48 Cubic Yards of debris has been removed; 3131 of the 3216 (97.4%) Expedited Debris Removal parcels have been cleared; and 1143 of the 1236 (92.4%) commercial parcels in Joplin and Duquesne have been cleared. The Missouri National Guard has also assisted state agencies in finding Missourians in the affected area employment. These efforts have resulted in employing 602 civilians in the Joplin area to date.

Due to heavy rains and larger than expected snow melt in the northern plains states, the US Army Corps of Engineers was forced to release unprecedented amounts of water from upstream impoundments into the Missouri River. This caused prolonged moderate and major flood stages in NW and central Missouri which subsequently caused several levee systems to experience structural issues including failures. THE MISSOURI NATIONAL GUARD MOBILIZED FORCES for response, 500 at the height, beginning 3 June 2011. These forces responded to civil authority requests mainly with sandbagging operations (including aerial delivery of), levee monitoring, security operations, and commodities distribution. The operation ended on December 15, 2011.

Governor Jay Nixon's INITIATIVE to provide increased employment, interview and hiring opportunities to Missouri's Veterans and members of her National Guard and Reserve forces, and to showcase those employers who have pledged to do so.

The Missouri Committee for EMPLOYERS SUPPORT OF THE GUARD AND RESERVE promotes a culture in which employers support and value their employees' military service. The program recognizes outstanding support, increases awareness of the law, and mediates conflicts. The program runs a variety of events including visits to mobilization training and boss lifts.

The FAMILY PROGRAM Office has a twofold mission - to improve the quality of life for Guard members and their Families, and to enhance service member readiness and retention. The office's Youth Program supports children of Guard members with summer camps and other events and the Missouri Military Relief Fund provides thousands of dollars in financial assistance to Guard and Reserve component Families that need assistance.

Established in 1999, the MILITARY FUNERAL HONORS PROGRAM coordinates and provides military funeral honors to Missouri's military Veterans. Our Military Funeral Honors program was the first in the nation to provide funeral honors to every honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. military. Before the program was established, only veterans who had served in wartime or had retired from the military were eligible for the honors. This program would not be possible without the support of various Veterans Service Organizations around the state.

Through the VETERANS RECOGNITION PROGRAM, Missouri has recognized thousands of Veterans who served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. To date, the Veterans Recognition Program has honored 46,294 World War II Veterans, 17,647 Korean War Veterans and 28,642 Vietnam-era Veterans.

The Defense Department's YELLOW RIBBON REINTEGRATION PROGRAM synchronizes, plans and manages the deployment cycle support process for unit and individual mobilizations in support of the adjutant general's intent. The Defense Department's Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program synchronizes, plans and manages the deployment cycle support process for unit and individual mobilizations in support of the adjutant general's intent. The program helps Veterans identify organizations and benefits that will aid them in their return to civilian life.

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