Sending eight of the state's 13 Black Hawk helicopters to Iraq will not greatly hinder the Montana National Guard's ability to respond to state emergencies, military and state officials said this week.

Last month, a task force comprising of 60 soldiers with the Montana National Guard's 189th General Aviation Support Battalion, left for a one-year tour in Iraq, taking eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters with them while leaving five behind.

"Any time you have a significant amount of assets leave the state to support a federal mission, it degrades your capability to respond to other missions," said Maj. Tim Crowe, public relations officer for the Montana Guard. "But the Guard is prepared to support the 2009 fire season, as we have been in previous years. We just have to be smarter on how we use the assets that have stayed behind."

It's not the first time the Montana Guard has been left without a full inventory of equipment, be it ground vehicles or aviation assets.

When the 189th left for its first Iraq tour in 2005, it took 10 Black Hawk helicopters from the state's inventory. Other units, including the state's 163rd Infantry Battalion, were forced to leave their vehicles in Iraq when they returned stateside.

But Crowe said much of that equipment has since trickled home and some new equipment has also been received. Now, even as the Montana Guard enters its second round of war-time deployments, Crowe said it remains poised to respond to emergencies here at home.

"We still have a significant number of soldiers and airmen who are ready to go right now to respond to any state emergency," Crowe said. "That goes along with the additional equipment the Guard maintains in its inventory."

Along with the state's Black Hawk helicopters, the Guard also maintains four CH-47 Chinook helicopters, which are currently available for service.

Crowe said the Guard plans to provide two initial-attack modules using the remaining Black Hawks, and keep the Chinooks ready for additional assistance if needed.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Wednesday the Guard was in a good position to lend assistance this summer if called upon.

He noted the state's remaining assets, including the four Chinooks, along with his friends in Washington, D.C., which now include Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

"We're in good shape for this summer," Schweitzer said. "We've built strong relations with our neighboring states if we go to EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact). I'm only a phone call away from my friend Janet Napolitano, and I think that would bring help fast if we needed those additional assets."

The Montana Guard has been called upon by the governor several times over the past four years to assist with wildland firefighting, including the Meriwether fire in the Gates of the Mountains north of Helena in 2007.

John Huston, unit fire supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, said the state Guard has always been easy to work with, even when its resources were stretched thin.

"The last five out of seven years we've had, through the governor's office, requested the Guard's help," Huston said. "They've been deployed in some fashion in years past, and they've still been able to give us some sort of help. They've been pretty good to us."

Martin Kidston: 447-4086 or mkidston@helenair.com