A fresh contingent of New Jersey Army National Guard Soldiers is scheduled to depart tomorrow from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. to Belle Chasse Naval Air Station in New Orleans to relieve Louisiana National Guard troops who have been on duty at the military flight facility since the storm hit over three weeks ago.

     Twelve New Jersey Army National Guard Soldiers have answered the call to fulfill the latest mission tasked to the Jersey Guard through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) since relief efforts began.  The Soldiers, all volunteers for the mission, will be stationed for up to 30 days at the Naval Air Station where they will help coordinate arrivals and departures of the large number of inbound and outbound flights that ferry troops, equipment and supplies to the storm-ravaged area.

     This is the third group of Jersey Guardsmen who have been sent to New Orleans to help with relief operations since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region.  Thirty-five Security Forces Airmen of the 108th Air Refueling Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard, spent approximately two weeks working with local law enforcement personnel.  Twenty-five soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 112th Field Artillery spent three days setting up a Life Support Area for the Law Enforcement Task Force that responded as part of the state's EMAC agreement with Louisiana.