JOPLIN, Mo. (KMOX) – What began as a weekend of annual training turned into a real-life search and extraction mission for some Missouri National Guard members.

The 117th Engineer Team of Monett got to the scene of the May 22nd Joplin tornado within hours and began sorting through the rubble.

Staff Sergeant Jeremy Pruitt says the destruction reminded him of the blown-up United Nations building he witnessed in Baghdad, Iraq.

The 117th also had to assemble a mobile hospital near the heavily-damaged St. John’s Hospital in Joplin.

Governor Nixon’s office says Missouri National Guard troops will remain in support of Joplin’s local authorities for an undetermined period.

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