Eleven soldiers and two CH-47F Chinook helicopters from the Iowa Army National Guard will deploy today to the Houston, Texas area to support response operations for Hurricane Harvey.Iowa National Guard officials said the team is comprised of seven Soldiers from Company B, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion (Davenport); one Soldier from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division (Boone); one Soldier from Detachment 1, Company D, 2-211th General Aviation Support Battalion (Davenport); one Soldier from Company C, 2-147th Aviation (Boone); and one Soldier from the 671st Troop Command (Johnston). These aircraft and crew members will be utilized to move supplies, equipment and people in support of the response operations. The state of Texas has requested support from Iowa. Support is provided under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, an agreement executed previously between all 50 states, two territories, and the District of Columbia, to assist one another in times of crisis. EMAC is a national, mutual aid and partnership agreement that allows state-to-state assistance during Governor-declared or federally-declared emergencies. Once the conditions for providing assistance to a requesting state have been set, the terms constitute a legally binding contractual agreement that make affected states responsible for reimbursement.