A local National Guard Unit has moved from providing relief to
the victims of Hurricane Katrina to helping victims of Hurricane
Rita.

Charlie Company, 1/112th Inf. (mec), Pennsylvania Army National
Guard from Ridgway, Bradford and Erie, moved this past Sunday from
the eastern part of Louisiana, where they were based in Camp
Keystone in Hammond Parrish, about 40 miles north of New Orleans,
to the western part of state at the international airport at Lake
Charles.

Sgt. Edward Kestler, retention NCO and public relations NCO for
Charlie Company, said the area they’re in now wasn’t really
effected by Hurricane Katrina, but they were there now because of
the damage done from Hurricane Rita.

Kestler said they were living in the hangar at the airport.
Currently, they have little supplies in the hot hangar with no air
conditioning. When the guardsmen first arrived, they were taking
field showers, which Kestler explained was a shower using 5-gallon
water jugs. The first few days the guardsmen ate MRE’s, or meals
ready to eat.

“The longer we’re here the more stuff we’re getting,” Kestler
said. “It’s starting to make it more and more livable.”

Kestler said the unit just recently received laundry facilities
and showers.

“Our guys put in 12- to 16-hour days,” Kestler said. “Our
leadership is very proud of how the younger guys are accepting it.
I mean some of them had to take a semester off of college to be
able to be down here and be doing what they’re doing. And they’re
doing it pretty willingly and very happily.”

Kestler said the Company is pretty content with their work.
However, they are working in their full gear in high humidity.
Kestler said the temperature Wednesday was 112 degrees.

“It’s hot, sweaty conditions with basically no shade,” Kestler
said.

Kestler said the unit has suffered no major injuries or illness
to this point.

The Company’s main mission at Hammond was to set up and operate
PODS, or Points Of Distribution for Supplies. These PODS gave out
food – mostly MRE’s, water, ice and donated items that were given
by companies and individuals and the Letters From Home program in
Elk County. The Company is still doing PODS at Lake Charles,
however they’re doing this more on their own.

“We’re pretty much doing our own thing now,” Kestler said.

Charlie Company was working with the Texas Forest Service, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana
Department of Agriculture and Forestry in the recovery program at
Hammond. Now, the Company is working by themselves with only help
from FEMA, who provides goods, such as food and water, to the
Company.

Kestler said Charlie Company is made up of three separate units
from the Erie, Ridgway and Bradford units.

“Everyone has been working together,” Kestler said.

“Our guys are proud to be here for the state and in the mission
that we’re doing,” he said. “They’re glad to help the people, glad
to be here for the people and glad to be representing their
community and state. They’re very proud of what they’re doing.
We’ve seen a lot of devastation and talked to a lot of people. And
we’re proud to relieve these people and help them out. We helped a
lot of people with food, water and ice.”

The unit was originally scheduled to rotate back home with a
convoy, leaving Louisiana on Thursday, with the rest of the unit
returning around Monday. However, because of further storm damage
from Hurricane Rita and the Company moving to the western part of
the state to help out, the date to return home was set back.
Kestler said three or four people will be going back home on
Tuesday. He said most of the Company will be going back home
Wednesday.

“Our guys are definitely looking forward to coming home,” he
said.

Kestler said the Company currently employs 103 guardsman, about
50 of which are from the Bradford unit. This includes one full-time
soldier from Bradford, Sgt. Warren Shaw, who is a full-time Adman
NCO.

On Sept. 5, a total of 109 soldiers from Charlie Company were
deployed by Gov. Ed Rendell to help in the recovery efforts from
Hurricane Katrina.

While some of the unit traveled by convoy to Louisiana by truck
and Humvee, the main body of the unit flew to Louisiana.

Capt. Cory Angell, public affairs spokesperson for the
Pennsylvania National Guard, told The Era earlier this month the
local units were part of a larger Pennsylvania unit of 2,300
guardsmen.

After getting the unit together and completing orientation at
Alexander Air Force Base, the Company then moved to a tent city,
nicknamed Camp Keystone, for the 28th Division, PANG. Angell said
the local units arrived in Hammond Sept. 8.