RALEIGH, N.C. (WHAS11) – Sergeant Marquita Washington handles logistics with the 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade out of Kentucky.
“You never know if you’re going to have a hot meal or a bed or a pillow – and so it’s good to just kind to have as much personal stuff you can bring – within limitation obviously,” she said.
Sgt. Washington is in charge of finding cots and places to stay for hundreds of National Guard troops flooding the Morrisville armory in Raleigh, the place she knows well.
It was a full circle moment for her with the National Guard taking her to Kentucky and now back to North Carolina.
“Wilson, North Carolina – that’s my home. I was just here – what – two weeks ago for Labor Day. My family has their annual family reunion there.”
Just days later she watched as Hurricane Florence barreled toward the coast, her family directly in the storm’s path.
“My immediate emotion was concern,” she said. “It’s especially personal for me to know that I’m helping not just citizens but family members.”
Most of Sgt. Washington’s family was able to evacuate in time.
“My family has that unique ability right now through Facebook to mark themselves as safe,” she said.
As they escaped to get to safety, Sgt. Washington came home to help.
“We know that all of this is bigger than us,” she said.
Sgt. Washington has been part of the National Guard since she was 17 and says her purpose is to be of service and what greater honor than to serve the state she loves.
“There’s so much devastation going on in the world. These hurricanes – they tear up communities. They tear up neighborhoods, kids aren’t able to go to school and learn. People can’t go to work. People are stranded in their homes. People are losing everything they worked for. So to just be able to be a blessing and be a beacon of light in a very dark place is the greatest gift,” she said.
Sgt. Washington is also in charge of making sure there is enough water for soldiers to drink and enough food for them to eat.