Department of Defense units are offering a ready supply of assistance, equipment and trained resources as Federal Emergency Management Agency and state officials begin to assess and deal with the damage of Hurricane Sandy.

According to a press statement released Tuesday, about 6,700 National Guardsmen are on state active duty or in the process of activating. The support locations range from Massachusetts to Virginia and the aid includes evacuation shelters, route clearance, search and rescue and delivery of equipment and supplies.

Guard members are also available to aid civilian authorities with aircraft, reconnaissance and cargo missions for people and supplies.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has authorized National Guard officers in the hard-hit states to serve as dual status commanders with the ability to direct both federal and National Guard elements.

Also, U.S. Northern Command has identified active duty deputies to work with any dual status commander to assist in supplying active duty forces if they are required. The command has also placed a number of units on 24-hour, prepare-to-deploy status and is sending medical planners to the impacted regions.

Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; and Dover Air Force Base, Del., have been designated incident support bases for staging support equipment and supplies. Fort Devens, Mass., is a federal team staging site.