By Joe Hadsall

jhadsall@joplinglobe.com

As Hurricane Gustav makes its landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast, area battalions of the Missouri National Guard will be assisting with evacuation efforts.

About 80 soldiers from Alpha Company, 311th Brigade Support Battalion, based in Lamar and Nevada, have been mobilized by Gov. Matt Blunt. The soldiers will pass out food and water in hurricane-stricken areas, once their destination is determined.

“They will be staging in central Louisiana,” said Michelle Pippin, public affairs representative for the Southwest Missouri National Guard. “From there, they will await orders about a safe location before going farther south.”

According to their orders, the soldiers of the company will be deployed for two weeks, but Pippin said they are prepared to stay longer if necessary.

The soldiers will depart this afternoon from Camp Clark at Nevada. They will join a group of more than 600 guardsmen from Missouri who will aid with hurricane relief efforts, including the 1221st Transportation Company, based out of Dexter, Portageville and Sikeston.

On Tuesday, members of the 203rd Engineer Combat Battalion will be deployed for the region. The mobilization includes members of the Headquarters Company in Joplin, Forward Support in Neosho, and the 294th Engineering Company based in Carthage and Anderson.

Pippin said the number of soldiers being sent from the 203rd was unknown Sunday night, but the number could be in the hundreds.

“The 203rd has almost 600 soldiers by itself,” Pippin said. “But four of the five companies in the 203rd have been mobilized, so we are looking at several hundred.”

The mission of the 203rd could include debris removal, and search and rescue.

Guard divisions from Springfield, Poplar Bluff and Fort Leonard Wood were mobilized last week.