LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has called up 70 Arkansas National Guardsmen to bolster severe weather response efforts in Sharp and Jackson counties, where Friday night’s storms left chaos in their wake. Organized into 13 five-person teams, the guardsmen are rolling out with Humvees and communications gear to support local authorities with traffic control and security operations.
The deployment kicked off this evening, targeting highways and intersections battered by the recent weather onslaught. Each team, equipped with two Humvees, is tasked with managing access to hard-hit zones, freeing up first responders to focus on emergency operations. Cave City will see heavy reinforcement, with six teams from the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and two from the 87th Troop Command. The remaining five teams from the 87th will fan out across Jackson County.
Beyond the field units, ten additional Guardsmen have been activated for state duty to keep the operation humming. Six will staff the Joint Operations Center around the clock, while the other four provide nonstop command and control for the deployed teams. The Guard’s role is to backstop civil authorities, stepping in where Governor Sanders directs to ease the strain of the crisis.
With boots on the ground and coordination in high gear, the mobilization underscores a swift state response to help communities reeling from the storms’ fury.
