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NEW ORLEANS (BRPROUD) — The Louisiana National Guard says 3,500 guardsmen traveled to Louisiana to help Louisianans recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

“I was actually sitting in my patrol car for the Columbia, South Carolina Police Department when I got the call to go to Louisiana,” said 2nd Lt. Austin Riels. “I was kind of expecting it. It was just a matter of when and where.”

Riels is a Mississippi National Guardsman assigned to the 113th Military Police Company, 112th Military Police Battalion, headquartered in Brandon, Mississippi.

  • Lt. Cmdr. Adam Jones, an active-duty Naval salvage officer from Washington, D.C. and Louisiana National Guardsmen 2nd Lt. Stuart Coles and Spc. Michael Cotton, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of Houma, Louisiana mark locations along Bayou Lafourche for future salvage missions in order to open it back up for transit, Sept 11, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Gregory Stevens)
  • Cpl. Sarah Watkins, an Ohio Army National Guard motor transport operator with the 1483rd Transportation Company, 112th Transportation Battalion, from Walbridge, Oh., unhooks a trailer from her truck until her next delivery mission in support of Hurricane Ida, Schriever, Louisiana, Sept 17, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Gregory Stevens)
  • U.S. Navy Seaman Jon Tinney, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 from Gulfport, Mississippi, operates a skid loader to load sand and debris after Hurricane Ida, Grand Isle, Louisiana, Sept. 17, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Gregory Stevens)
  • 2nd Lt. Austin Riels, a Mississippi National Guardsman assigned to the 113th Military Police Company, 112th Military Police Battalion, waves vehicles through a traffic control point during clean up and reconstruction after Hurricane Ida, Grand Isle, Louisiana, Sept. 17, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Gregory Stevens)
  • National Guardsmen from Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina and active duty Sailors from the U.S. Navy work together to clear roads after Hurricane Ida, Grand Isle, Louisiana, Sept. 17, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Gregory Stevens)
  • Senior Airman Tyrone Merritt of the 149th Fighter Wing Texas Air National Guard helps cut up a tree in Raceland, La., during Hurricane Ida response 7, Sept. 2021. (Air National Guard photo by TSgt. Agustin G. Salazar)