North Carolina sends more help to Puerto Rico

North Carolina has sent more help to Puerto Rico.

Another group of North Carolina National Guard members arrived on the island Wednesday to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria. The North Carolina National Guard now has about 150 people on the island helping clear debris and delivering food and water, according to a spokesman. The group arriving Wednesday consisted of 45 people.

Fort Bragg has more than 175 soldiers in Puerto Rico.

Seventy of those soldiers are part of the 127th Quartermaster Company, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, which has a unit specializing in treating water.

Fort Bragg soldiers are able to take water from the Atlantic Ocean and purify it using a "reverse osmosis water purification unit," so it's safe enough to drink.

They're purifying water all day and night and providing clean, drinking water to residents in Puerto Rico, where about a third of the population still doesn't have clean water.

"What we do is send is we send preventative medicine teams out there to make sure the sites are tested and adequate and correct for consumption," said Capt. Sylvio Personna, of the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command at Fort Bragg, while talking over the phone from Puerto Rico.

Staff Sgt. David Andreano, of the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command at Fort Bragg, said he was part of a group that recently helped the Red Cross deliver food.

"I see a lot every time I get to go out and meet different areas," Staff Sgt. Andreano said. "Just a lot of people happy to see the help that we're bringing to them every day."

When asked about the controversial tweet posted by President Donald Trump Oct. 12 saying:

"We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!," Capt. Personna said:

"I'm not going to comment in regards to what the President has said. But what I can tell you is that at the end of the day it's all one team, one fight. We're all here to help the people of Puerto Rico."