Sebelius offers to send troops, equipment

Wichita ? Kansas officials are ready to pitch in to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort with National Guard helicopters, trucks and personnel, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday.

Sebelius, who was visiting Wichita for the annual Kansas Farm Bureau tour, said the state has offered to send six Black Hawk helicopters with 40 support personnel.

The state could also “strategically afford” to send 30 five-ton trucks with 70 Guard troops, including a communications team, medical personnel and others.

During a conference call with the National Guard Bureau, the adjutant general’s offices of all the states were asked whether they could contribute National Guard assistance.

Sebelius had made direct offers Tuesday in calls to the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Sebelius said the state was trying to help people struggling with an almost “unimaginable situation.”

Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, Kansas adjutant general, said in a news release the number of personnel that could be sent would depend on requests made, but could reach several hundred.

“We’ve been responding to emergencies for 150 years,” Bunting said. “The fact that the people in need are not here in Kansas makes no difference.”

No official requests have yet been made for aid from any state, the Adjutant General’s Office said.