A New Hampshire Army National Guard movement control team helped Florida choreograph the influx of military relief from 15 states in aftermath of Hurricane Milton.
“We were plugged in from the start,” said Capt. James Kelly, team leader and logistics chief for Joint Force Headquarters. “It felt good to be needed. We did exactly what we came down here to do.”
His squad – Capt. Justin Moran, 1st Lt. Christopher Bruneau, and two Katrina veterans, Master Sgt. Bernard Hudgens and Sgt. 1st Class Scott Jones – arrived at the Robert F. Ensslin Jr. National Guard armory in Gainesville in early October. From a first-floor operations room, they tracked 26 National Guard units, which included search and rescue teams, light and medium truck companies, engineer detachments, route clearance teams and general-purpose elements.
In total, states dispatched 1,700 National Guardsmen and nearly 600 vehicles under Emergency Management Assistance Compacts or EMACS, nationally adopted agreements that allow states and territories to help each other during emergencies. Guard units from five states were turned around en route, Kelly said, because they were not needed.
“Florida is such a big state that the sheer scale of the operation is very different from what we’ve experience with Joint Force Headquarters in New Hampshire,” Kelly said. “(The Florida National Guard) is a very accommodating, very professional organization. They are well positioned to work with other states.”
The logistics mission was a first for New Hampshire. In the past, the state has activated Guard assets for general purpose and search and rescue operations. In 2005, about 500 NH guardsmen deployed to New Orleans for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. More recently, medevac crews supported the Vermont National Guard in the wake of severe flooding in 2023.
During the final shift of their eight-day rotation, four of New Hampshire’s MCT operators were awarded the Florida State Active Duty Medal. Bruneau, who returned home early, got his the day before.