Two major hurricanes hit the United States during the 1992 storm season. Hurricane Andrew ravaged the south coast of Florida on 24
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August 1992. Until Hurricane Katrina, Andrew was considered the most destructive natural disaster to ever hit the United States. In south Dade County, 100 square miles were completely destroyed, and 200 more square miles were significantly damaged.31 In the United States and throughout the Caribbean, 60 people were killed. Hurricane Andrew caused $33 billion in damages, leveled 80,000 homes, displaced 250,000 people, and produced 20 million cubic feet of debris that required removal.32 Then, on 11 September, Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai, the westernmost island in the Hawaiian Island chain. A Category 4 hurricane, Iniki was the most devastating hurricane to ever hit the Hawaiian Islands and, up to that time, one of the most destructive to ever hit the United States.33 Three people were killed, 14,340 homes were damaged or destroyed, 7,000 people were left homeless, and 8,000 more needed food and water. Almost 70 percent of the island sustained damage from the storm, which was later estimated at $1.6 billion.34
In both cases, Active component and National Guard troops responded to the disasters. The Hurricane Andrew relief mission was predominately an Active-Duty mission. The governor of Florida activated 600 National Guardsmen before the storm struck. Although they were in position to conduct search-and-rescue missions once the storm passed, they were quickly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the destruction. Consequently, President George H.W. Bush decided to use Active forces to relieve suffering in the state. Joint Task Force (JTF) Andrew was established on 28 August. More than 22,000 soldiers from the 82d Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, 1st Corps Support Command, and other services participated in this mission.35 Because they were not immediately pushed into the area devastated by the storm, the units involved had time to plan and tailor their forces to the expected tasks. Their initial focus was on tending to the needs of the survivors by providing food, water, shelter, medical support, and security. As the situation stabilized, these units shifted to the second phase of operations: recovery. During this phase, they restored public services, repaired schools, cleared roads, and removed debris.
Two units involved in the Hurricane Andrew relief operation were the 20th Engineer Brigade and the 1/22d Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division. The 20th Engineer Brigade received notification that it would deploy to support Hurricane Andrew relief efforts late in the day on 27 August, 3 days after the storm struck. The brigade’s assault command post arrived in Florida at 0530 the next morning and headed toward its operating area. What the engineers found appalled them. Five days after the hurricane had struck, the situation on the ground was still bad. The relief mission was disorganized, little aid was getting to those in need, roads were blocked by debris, electricity was out everywhere, and telephone communications were mostly inoperable. Based on that assessment, the engineers decided to add extra bucket loaders to their equipment list.36 By 2 September, four engineer battalions had deployed to the area.37 Once the initial relief missions, such as road clearance, were completed, the emphasis shifted to recovery missions. The engineers cleared debris so that disaster assistance centers, life support centers, and mobile kitchens could be set up to provide critical support to the victims. They also began restoring schools and removing the debris piled up at schools, parks, and other public places.38 Conditions continued to improve so that, by 20 September, the engineers were able to redeploy.39
The 1/22d Infantry assumed duties as the division ready force (DRF) for the 10th Mountain Division on 28 August 1992. As a lead element in the Nation’s rapid deployment force concept, the DRF had to be ready to deploy on 18 hours’ notice.40 The battalion got word at 1800 on 29 August that it would be deploying as part of JTF Andrew to provide disaster relief to Florida citizens. The next morning, the battalion embarked and flew to Florida. When it arrived, it was assigned an operating area and told to get to work. Based on its mission assignment, the battalion prioritized its work as follows:
• Dispose of any item judged a hazard to the health of citizens or soldiers.
• Distribute food and water.
• Remove debris.
• Ask residents what help they needed to restore their lives.41
The battalion was also responsible for several mobile kitchens, which served almost 900,000 meals during the first 33 days of operation. Debris removal missions were conducted using organic equipment such as handsaws and chain saws and contracted bulldozers and dump trucks. One officer in the battalion recalled that contractors would work for the first military unit that contacted them, so units competed with one another to commandeer as many dump trucks as possible so that they could clear more territory.42 By the end of September, the situation on the ground began to improve and the battalion began planning its redeployment. It returned to Fort Drum, New York, on 7 October, after 40 days of relief operations.43