INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana National Guard personnel will be going to areas damaged by Hurricane Milton to remove debris and provide transportation, Guard leaders said Thursday.

Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday activated about 400 Indiana National Guard soldiers to help with hurricane relief efforts in Florida.

Lt. Col. Amy Hoover, the director of military support for the Indiana National Guard, says those soldiers are bringing heavy construction equipment including bulldozers, dump trucks and backhoes. She says Guard personnel are trained to use that equipment specifically for disaster relief operations.

“We have experiences with different types of events: tornadoes, river floods, even winter storms Our personnel, our equipment, they’re all prepped and ready to go in support of our sister states out there.”

Hoover says the soldiers and airmen will arrive in Florida by the end of the week.

While en route, they will receive mission updates from the Guard’s Joint Operations Center at Stout Field. Once they reach the disaster zone, they will coordinate with local authorities.

Hoover says the Guard members will primarily remove debris and transport supplies and people. If other missions pop up, she says, they’re trained to adapt to those missions quickly.

“This is where the relationship between the Indiana Department of Homeland Security as well as the Florida National Guard comes in extremely handy. We’re constantly communicating back and forth as to what the situation is on the ground to update the type of resources, equipment and personnel that are required.”

Hoover says there is no set return date. She said the soldiers will remain in Florida as long as they’re needed.

In addition to the National Guard, about 80 members of Indiana Task Force 1 on Thursday were conducting rescue operations in Florida. Other members of Indiana Task Force 1, along with about a dozen Indiana Air National Guard airmen, remained in North Carolina to assist with Hurricane Helene recovery operations.