Puerto Rico Army - 1/4 Show Description + Hide Description - Spc. Lilibet Garcia, a human resources specialist who periodically provides the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, helps protect a missile defense complex at Fort Greeley, Alaska, Sept. 26, 2017. As one of many National Guard Soldiers from Pu... (Photo Credit: U.S. ) SEE ORIGINAL
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption - Staff Sgt. Jamie Montes, a military police officer with the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, provides security at the Missile Defense Complex at Fort Greeley, Alaska, Sept. 26, 2017. As one of many Puerto Rican National Guard soldiers assigned ... (Photo Credit: USA) WATCH ORIGINAL
Puerto Rico Army
FORT GREELEY, Ala. -- Thousands of miles from home, Staff Sgt. Jamie Montes wants to return to Puerto Rico to help his family recover after Hurricane Maria hit the Caribbean island last week and left it in disarray.
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As one of about 60 National Guard soldiers from Puerto Rico assigned to the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, Montes knows the mission at this Alaska post is too important to give up.
The unit, which belongs to the 100th Missile Defense Brigade, is immediately capable of launching land-based interceptor missiles to shoot down enemy long-range missiles headed for American soil. While the mission is ongoing, current threats from North Korea have strengthened its role.
"We in the military know that we always have something to do and this job here is a mission that cannot be let down, so we have to be here so that our fellow Americans can sleep well," said Montes, a military police officer assigned to . with the security of the missile fields in Greeley.
The 39-year-old is from Guayama on the island's south coast and has not heard from his mother and sister since the hurricane hit.
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"I'm still trying to get in touch with my family. I know they're fine because there were no deaths in the town," he said, adding that he believed his mother's concrete house suffered little damage. "But I want to talk to them and know for sure that they don't need it."
At least 16 people have died as a result of the storm, and the death toll is expected to rise as authorities continue to reach devastated communities.
One of the dead was a policeman and the uncle of one of the soldiers of the battalion. The trooper is a close friend of Montes and said the close-knit community at the post is there for her and others dealing with affected families.
The support system helped the 210-member Alaska National Guard unit -- about a quarter of whom are Puerto Rican soldiers -- stay ready for the vital mission. "We know there are a lot of people who rely on us," Montes said.
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Still, thousands of homes were destroyed in Puerto Rico, and the dam also forced the evacuation of 75,000 residents amid fears it could flood the area.
"They are displaced, but we don't know where until we make contact with them," said Lt. Col. Orlando Ortega, the battalion commander.
As news of the island spreads, soldiers at this remote outpost in Alaska patiently wait for family members to hear from them. Cell phone towers have been installed on the island, but phone calls still rarely go through.
"Every day is something new because Puerto Rico's infrastructure is coming online, so communication is a big key now," said Ortega, who also has family there. "We just don't know what we don't know until they start communicating with their loved ones."
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Some soldiers from the battalion were allowed to return to the island and Florida to assess the damage, he added.
Before the storm, Spc. Lilibet Garcia, the battalion's human resources specialist, had daily phone calls with her mother in Caguas, near San Juan, the capital. Now, most of her follow-up calls go unanswered after she first spoke to her mother after the storm.
"I know it's been difficult for the island," said the 31-year-old. "I was one of the lucky few to talk to them right after the hurricane, so I know they're okay."
After another storm, Hurricane Irma, brought heavy rain to the island earlier this month, her brother's house is now destroyed and the roof completely ripped off.
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"When he came back, he saw that he had lost everything," she said of her brother, who evacuated to their mother's home after Hurricane Maria.
While Garcia wants to help his family, he knows the mission here is still necessary to keep all Americans safe. Just minutes after radars detected the launch, an anti-missile missile could have been fired into space to destroy an intercontinental ballistic missile hurtling toward the United States.
"It's hard. You feel impotent. You just want to be there for them," she said of her family. "I try to leave all my worries at home and just come to work and finish the mission and then come back and try to call them all the time. I may not be able to help my family, but I will be able to help others. " "
Soldiers in the unit have begun gathering essential supplies they hope to send to the island soon to help those affected by the storm.
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Montes and others also know that National Guard soldiers in Puerto Rico are helping their families while he and other Puerto Ricans are up north protecting the nation. More than 2,000 US troops have been deployed to areas affected by the hurricane.
"It's very important for me to be here," he said. "I know the people of Puerto Rico will be taken care of." My brothers in arms are there and they know it's not just me. Many Puerto Ricans give them peace of mind so they will take care of our loved ones."
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