Va. National Guard headed to Vermont after Irene

Posted to: Hurricanes - Storms Military Weather Virginia

By Meredith Kruse
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 6, 2011

RICHMOND

About 25 soldiers and six 20-ton dump trucks will go to Vermont to help with cleanup in the wake of Hurricane Irene, the Virginia National Guard announced.

The Fort Pickett-based 157th Engineer Platoon will provide the troops and dump trucks and the Blackstone-based 3647th Maintenance Company will send a maintenance team and support vehicle.

The soldiers are scheduled to arrive at Fort Pickett today and leave Tuesday. They could be gone as long as a month.

The 157th Engineer Platoon’s primary mission is to provide crushed stone for the Guard’s Maneuver Training Center at Fort Pickett, but its soldiers have a variety of skills. Many have deployed to Iraq.

Guard engineers last traveled out of state in May 2010 to assist with flood recovery in West Virginia.

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