RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond resident and Army veteran is raising questions about the state's use of the National Guard in response to last week's water crisis.
"The Virginia Army National Guard is meant to call out for disasters, situations exactly like this," said Joe Sokohl, who served for 16 years in the Army and nearly a decade in the National Guard. "We never heard anything about the National Guard until the third day of the response."
Sokohl said he wonders how the city leaders asked for the National Guard's help.
"Where are the army's smaller vehicles that they can attach to their Humvees, which are all-wheel drive?" Sokohl asked. "They have that capacity. What was the coordination? We need to know that, we need to know who talked to whoever."
We first asked city officials about the use of the National Guard during a news conference last Thursday.
"We are in close communication with the state regarding that potential activation," said Traci Deshazor, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of Human Services. "At this time, we have not needed to do that activation."
We reached out to the National Guard and the mayor's office for clarification after the National Guard was later used to help distribute water.
A representative from the National Guard said the call to mobilize came in late Tuesday night. The gathering of guardsmen and tanks began on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, about 30 members of the National Guard began helping distribute water bottles, while another 15 worked to get water tanks certified and filled. By Friday morning, they were on-site and ready to go.
The mayor's office described a similar timeline. When asked about the statement made during Thursday's news conference, a representative said it was a very fluid situation, and as more water came in throughout the week, the status of the needs changed — but those additional resources from the National Guard were a huge help.
Sohkul added that he's also thankful to the National Guard for their help, though he hopes the city will better communicate how, when, and where help is coming from in the event of another crisis.
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