A team of logistics specialists from the New Hampshire Army National Guard provided support in October to help Florida plan for Hurricane Milton.
Based at the Robert F. Ensslin Jr. National Guard armory in Gainesville, the Granite State soldiers augmented Florida National Guard.
"We are providing breathing room for Florida as all this extra help flows into the state," said Capt. James Kelly, a logistics chief for Joint Force Headquarters.
"While Florida takes care of Florida," the NHARNG movement control team coordinated incoming support from the rest of the country, Kelly said. That included 6,000 inbound National Guardsmen from 15 states, 22 helicopters, more than 500 high-water vehicles and 13 boats.
In addition to Kelly, New Hampshire sent Capt. Justin Moran, 1st Lt. Christopher Bruneau, Master Sgt. Bernard Hudgens and Sgt. 1st Class Scott Jones. Hudgens and Jones were among 500 NH guardsmen who deployed to New Orleans in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
They stayed at a budget hotel 30 minutes from the armory. Two to a room.
"The group we have down here -- everyone gets along," Kelly said. "We are plugged in. We are working super hard. Morale is great."
With little fanfare save for a handful of local reporters, they left Concord in a 15-passenger van loaded with their rucks and a seven-day supply of MREs. They arrived 19 hours later, taking shifts driving down I-95, the first state to report for duty.