CLAY NATIONAL GUARD CENTER, Marietta, Ga., Oct. 30, 2012 – Elements of the Georgia National Guard have been activated, with the support of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, to assist relief operations in states impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Aircraft of the Georgia Guard’s Company B, 1st Battalion, 169th General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB) will mobilize from Hunter Army Airfield today to provide heavy airlift capability to the relief effort. 

Major Gen. Jim Butterworth, Georgia’s Adjutant General, informed Gen. Frank Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, that the Georgia Guard was ready and willing to assist in all relief operations.

“We are prepared to assist our sister states,” said Butterworth. “We have 13,000 Soldiers and Airmen ready to help.”

The Georgia Guardsmen of the 1-169th GSAB fly the CH-47 Chinook, one of the heaviest cargo helicopters in service. The CH-47 has seen extensive service in the nation’s conflicts and domestic relief operations. 

The Georgia Army National Guard consists of more than 11,100 Citizen-Soldiers training in more than 80 hometown armories and regional facilities across the state. Georgia’s Army National Guard is the eighth largest in the nation and includes combat, combat support and combat service support units. The Georgia Army National Guard is organized into five major subordinate commands: the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of Macon; the 78th Homeland Response Force at Clay National Guard Center in Marietta; the 78th Aviation Troop Command, also at Clay; the 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade at Fort Gillem; and the 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Columbus at Fort Benning.

• Recent stories about the 1-169th GSAB
• 1-169th GSAB imagery

Contact:

1st Lt. William Carraway

Media Relations Officer, Georgia Department of Defense

(404) 788-1487 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it