COLUMBUS, OH -- In anticipation of Florida-bound Hurricane Milton, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has activated a team of more than three dozen members of the Ohio National Guard to support the state of Florida in the storm's aftermath.

“As Florida recovers from one hurricane and braces for another, Ohio is answering the call to help Governor DeSantis and the entire state," said Governor DeWine. "Forty members of the 200th REDHORSE Squadron are proactively heading to Florida in advance of what is expected to be another catastrophic storm."

The Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer (REDHORSE) is the Ohio Air National Guard's civil engineering unit based in Port Clinton. Upon arrival to Florida, Airmen will conduct assessments of needed support, help clean up storm debris from public property, and provide other recovery and relief operations in hard-hit areas of the state.

“Ohio continues to be ready to help our fellow states in a time of need,” said Major General John Harris Jr., Ohio adjutant general. “The 200th REDHORSE Squadron is trained to provide a highly mobile, rapidly deployable, civil engineering response force that is self-sufficient to perform heavy damage repair.”

Florida requested this assistance from Ohio under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a national mutual aid partnership agreement allowing state-to-state assistance during state or federally declared emergencies.

Last week, Governor DeWine activated more than a dozen Airmen and Soldiers to support the state of North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.