USA — Louisiana Guard Airlifts Sandbags in Oil Spill Response

BURAS, La., May 18, 2010 — The Louisiana Nation­al Guard’s 843rd Hor­i­zon­tal Com­pa­ny and 2225th Mul­ti-Role Bridge Com­pa­ny, 205th Engi­neer Bat­tal­ion, start­ed joint oper­a­tions with 1st Bat­tal­ion, 244th Avi­a­tion Reg­i­ment by fill­ing one of 16 breach­es span­ning more than sev­en miles from Pel­i­can Island to Scofield Island near Empire, La., yes­ter­day.

Louisiana Nation­al Guard sol­diers con­duct around-the-clock sling load­ing oper­a­tions to pre­pare and deliv­er sand­bags to a stag­ing area, where they will be air­lift­ed by UH-60 Black Hawk heli­copters to fill breach­es on Pel­i­can and Scofield islands in response to the Deep­wa­ter Hori­zon oil spill. Bildquelle: U.S. Army pho­to by Spc. Christo­pher L. Fos­ter Click to enlarge

Oper­a­tions con­sist of fill­ing large sand­bags on the ground and air­lift­ing them with UH-60 Black Hawk heli­copters to repair gaps caused by coastal ero­sion as part of efforts to mit­i­gate effects from the Deep­wa­ter Hori­zon oil spill. 

The sol­diers on the ground are fill­ing as many sand­bags as pos­si­ble to stay ahead of the airlifts. 

“With 24-hour, on-the-ground oper­a­tions, I am con­fi­dent that my troops will get the job done quick­ly and effi­cient­ly,” said Army 1st Lt. James T. Gabler of Metairie, La., offi­cer in charge of sling operations. 

The 2225th assist­ed in plac­ing the sand­bags and recov­er­ing the sling cables used to haul the large sandbags. 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs)