Troops deploy to Gulf

For the past three weeks, National Guard members based out of the

armory in Burbank have been reading and watching reports on the

devastation in Louisiana caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Next week they will be able to view the scene for themselves.

Four hundred members of three California National Guard regiments

will fly from March Air Force Base in Riverside Monday morning to St.

Bernard Parish, an area south of New Orleans that was one of the

hardest hit by the storm.

The guardsman come from the 1st Battalion, 144th Field Artillery

Regiment -- headquartered out of the Burbank Armory -- the 143rd

Field Artillery Regiment from Walnut Creek and the 1st Battalion of the 185th Infantry Regiment from Fresno.

The guardsmen were told to be prepared to be in an area that still

doesn’t have electricity, said 1st Battalion Staff Sergeant Andrew

Cronin, of Glendale.

“We are not going into an easy place to handle,” Cronin said.

“It’s going to be difficult for us to do things but we will be able

to take care of the mission like we’re supposed to.”

Because of the polluted water the guardsmen will be working in,

they will be issues rubber gloves and surgical masks, 1st Battalion

Sergeant First Class Phillip Peterson said.

The battalion is expected to be there for 30 to 45 days, 1st

Battalion Command Sgt. Major Robert Whittle said.

Duties in St. Bernard Parish will include food patrols and rescue

and recovery operations, Whittle said.

More than 1,000 people were killed in areas in the Gulf Coast hit

by the hurricane, which ripped through the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29 with

145 mph winds. Damage from the storm has been estimated at $200

billon.

Hurricane Rita, a category 4 storm, is expecting to make landfall

today on the coast between Louisiana and Texas. Thousands of people

have evacuated the area.

The new storm delayed the deployment of the guardsmen.

“We had to wait for Hurricane Rita to pass before we could get in

there,” Cronin said.

“They are happy to be picked to go on this particular mission,”

Whittle said. “They know the people there were dealt a huge blow and

we want to go down there and help them.”