Biden-Harris admin sends 1,000 soldiers to aid North Carolina one week after Hurricane Helene hit

A statement from the Pentagon released on Wednesday stated, "At the request of FEMA, the Secretary of Defense has authorized the movement of up to 1,000 active-duty Soldiers to support the delivery of food, water, and other critical aid 'over the last mile to the point of need' to communities impacted by Hurricane Helene."

The active-duty troops come from Fort Liberty, North Carolina. The state is one of the places that has been hit the hardest by the storm and some may question why the soldiers were not deployed sooner, given their proximity to the disaster.

FEMA has been slammed this week over statements made by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who admitted that the agency did not have adequate funding to make it to the end of the hurricane season, or the end of November. This comes as it was also reported that FEMA diverted around $650 million earlier this year to shelters for illegal immigration.

"Employment of these Soldiers will provide additional manpower and logistics capabilities, enabling FEMA and other interagency partners to reach the hardest hit areas as quickly as possible. Their mission will include delivering support and commodities to impacted and isolated communities, assisting with supply point logistics at commodity staging locations, and removing debris from affected routes," the statement from the Pentagon added.

"The DoD has been fully engaged with FEMA and the whole-of-government relief efforts related to Hurricane Helene, and will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure we are supporting and coordinating response efforts."

It was reported by NBC News that at least 215 people are dead with hundreds more unaccounted for after the destruction of the storm.