LEWISTON – Long before Hurricane Ike assaulted Texas 10 days ago, thousands of Salvation Army members mobilized. They knew from experience their neighbors, friends and fellow men and women would look to them for help.

Even volunteers living more than 2,000 miles away in New England stood ready to respond to needs in the wake of the onslaught of the Category 2 storm that ripped through the Gulf Coast region. Local Salvation Army volunteer Don Walsh was one of them, until now.

“In those times, I see a great need for people. A need for comfort. A need for compassion. A need for a strong shoulder,” said Walsh, 51, of Lewiston. “I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like. God has put me in this position, and I’m very willing to step up to the plate.”

Walsh, who has been involved with the Salvation Army’s disaster services effort for more than 11 years, left Tuesday morning for Texas as part of a team of 22 people from the organization’s Eastern Territory, which stretches from Maine to Kentucky. He is one of a three-man emergency canteen team from this region dispatched to assist in the Salvation Army’s massive feeding program.

According to the organization’s Web site, more than 80 volunteers and personnel are providing meals to displaced and discouraged residents of the ravaged Texas coast through 60 mobile feeding units and three field kitchens capable of producing 20,000 hot meals daily.

“One thing about the Salvation Army is that we’re always ready to assist people in disaster situations,” said Pat James, media contact for the Salvation Army’s Northern New England Division. “We’re there and stay there until people are back on their feet.”

Walsh and his team, which includes Salvation Army officers from Vermont and New Hampshire, will spend the next 14 days working in the Texas region. They are among thousands of volunteers and personnel from across the United States and Canada signing up for two-week tours.

Michael Orfitelli, disaster services coordinator for the Salvation Army Eastern Territory, said that Salvation Army volunteers like Walsh are lining up across the country to head south and help. More than 700 volunteers from the Eastern Territory traveled to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He pointed out that the Salvation Army has continued to improve disaster response efforts and equipment since the 9/11 attacks.

But it always comes back to the people who make the biggest impact.

“For many, it’s a life-changing experience,” Orfitelli said. “I think that’s why so many people continue to volunteer with us and continue to improve their skills.”

Although this will be the first major, national disaster in which Walsh has been involved, he is a familiar sight at local, state and regional emergencies. From fires to floods to feeding the area’s homeless, Walsh has been involved with the Salvation Army for more than 25 years. He spent several days in northern Maine during the floods in Aroostook County this past spring.

But he admits being nervous about heading into an area hit hard by massive devastation.

“I’ve lived in Maine my entire life, and I’ve never seen any destruction of this magnitude,” said Walsh, who has been paying close attention to news reports this past week. “I’ve seen the pictures. I’ve seen all the devastation. I’m ready to go down there and do whatever I can do. Americans need to stand by their fellow Americans, period. We need to be there for one another.”