Tag Archives: Hurricane Helene

Muleskinners Getting it Done

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An unusual sight in North Carolina’s Hurricane Helene devastated areas are volunteer mule teams.

With hundreds of miles of roads washed out and no guarantee of helicopter LZs in some places, folks like the Mountain Mule Packer Ranch are stepping up.

Via Mountain Mule Packer Ranch

Via Mountain Mule Packer Ranch

The MMPR gang, based in Ulna, NC, are pros.

They specialize in offering mule packing classes to military customers, specifically hauling crew-served weapons and difficult loads.

Via Mountain Mule Packer Ranch

If you think that a few mule trains can’t help, remember how much baby formula, insulin, med packs, diapers, and other critical items can be crammed into those big packs. At least it’s a band-aid until the more large-scale operations get ramped up.

Lakota Sardines

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Fort Novosel (formerly “Mother” Rucker), spanning more than 60,000 acres of rural dark space across Southeastern Alabama about an hour or so from Tallahassee, has over 600 operational helicopters.

Think about that.

That is a figure just about equal to the entire Marine Corps’ inventory (active and reserve, spread from Okinawa to North Carolina), or about three times that of the USAF (likewise, active and reserve, all around the globe). Novosel may be the busiest helicopter base on the planet, even swamping Cambell which has the 101st ABN (280 helos) and the bulk of the Nighstalkers of the 160th SOAR (150 birds).

And that isn’t even counting the 250-odd static aircraft in the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence (museum) which I had the privilege to visit and film at last year.

With so many airframes and Cat 4 Hurricane Helene inbound, threatening 140 mph winds, it was all hands on deck at Novosel the past couple of days stacking the hangars at the complex’s assorted Army Airfields and Heliports like sardines.

From the looks of it, most are UH-72A/B Lakotas (U.S.-built Eurocopter EC145s).

Here’s to hoping everyone makes it through this.

Keep safe, folks.