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August 31st, 2008
Posted: 05:25 PM ET
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The U.S. active-duty military is scrambling to get out of the way of Hurricane Gustav and at the same time be in position to provide assistance. The Air Force and Navy have moved ships and aircraft out of the immediate region to safer ground. Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississipi, was under orders to evacuate all non-essential personnel by 6 p.m. Sunday, and Fort Polk in Louisiana is expected to follow suit, U.S. military officials said. Three Navy amphibous warships are getting ready to set sail from Norfolk, Virginia, and the USS Bataan may set sail as soon as late Monday, a Navy spokesman said. The ship can provide food, water, medical supplies and other relief, while the helicopters can conduct search and rescue. A 10th Mountain Division brigade of about 3,000 active duty Army troops is also on alert to deploy to the region. The Air Force has spent much of the weekend providing air evacuation from the region. CNN has learned that as of 7 p.m. Sunday night, the U.S. Air Force will establish a 24/7 crisis action team inside the Pentagon to coordinate Air Force operations. A Defense Department-wide crisis team is expected to also be established in the Pentagon’s underground National Command Center. All military operations are being coordinated thousands of miles away at the Colorado Springs, Colo., headquarters of the U.S. Northern Command, which is setting up a separate command post in Alexandria, Louisiana. |
 
Editor's note
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