Civilian Employees epitomize 'mission-first' mentality during snowstorm

By Michelle Kennedy, Staff WriterJanuary 29, 2015

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1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team walk out to a plane at Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield earlier this month. Civilian Employees who work at the airfield pulled long hours the week of Jan. 5-10 to ensure the Soldiers could successfully depart for the J... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Just as Soldiers focus on accomplishing a mission, Fort Drum Civilian Employees also have a mission to complete -- supporting Soldiers.

Civilian Employees proved their dedication to duty during an almost weeklong snowstorm that hit the Northeast earlier this month. As many Fort Drum Soldiers and Civilian Employees prepared to come back to work after the holiday break the week of Jan. 5, a snowstorm was creeping into northern New York.

Civilians who work at Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield are used to working in winter weather conditions, but the deployment of more than 3,600 1st Brigade Combat Team Soldiers to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., added a little difficulty to the situation.

From Jan. 5-10, Fort Drum had two "do not report" days and two "delayed report" days, according to Joe White, Aviation Division chief. For those five days, Civilian Employees provided 24-hour coverage to maintain the airfield and keep it operational.

"I don't think there's another Army airfield that could've done what we did. I don't know of anyone else who has the capabilities of enduring those types of conditions and still meeting the mission," White said.

Mike Richardson, airfield operations officer, added that while most of the facilities on the installation were closed, Civilians at the airfield were working even harder than usual to accomplish the mission. At times, visibility was less than ? mile with 30-knot winds.

"They put themselves in dangerous driving conditions to get here and make sure the planes picking up our Soldiers could safely land and depart," he said. "There's a lot that goes into it -- it's more than moving snow and servicing planes. There are so many facets and so many teams working out here."

All of the individuals who worked that week had the arduous task of ensuring the safety of the Soldiers and aircrews, according White.

"The Public Works snow removal team kept our runways operable," he said. "They had an enormous challenge."

At times, when visibility was so low that the plow drivers could not see one another, they had to halt in place until visibility improved, Richardson added.

Since White became the airfield manager almost 20 years ago, he said that operation was the toughest week of deployment support the Civilians have ever had to do.

"It's not like we've never had weather like that before, but it was hard to try to meet the mission, get the Soldiers out and get the aircraft in all on schedule," he said. "We did have a little bit of luck. We had so much lake effect snow, but the bands would go by, and then we'd get a respite.

"We got a couple of airplanes in and out, and then a band would blow back through -- the runway would get totally wiped out with snow," White added.

In all, 21 airplanes came in and out carrying 3,646 Soldiers, workers loaded more than 140 tons of cargo, the refuelers pumped more than 11,000 gallons of fuel and five planes had to be de-iced / anti-iced. All aircraft left on time, and the last two planes departed early, White said.

"It was really challenging," he said. "I'm so impressed with our team. There are a lot of people who were working 12 hours on, 12 hours off to make this happen.

"It was the people driving the snow removal equipment or who were refueling the aircraft that go unseen," White continued. "They don't always get the recognition they deserve, but without them, we could not have done it."

Civilians who work on Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield always rise to the occasion, Richardson said.

"They work overtime when required; they come in early because they know that in order to get to their equipment, there's work that needs to be done before they can even get to their trucks and testing still has to be done," he said.

From Public Works to the Logistics Readiness Center to the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobil-

ization and Security, all of the organizations played a role in ensuring the success of the mission, Richardson explained.

"We have the 'Team Drum' mentality -- all of these different organizations coming together for a single purpose -- to make sure that Soldiers can deploy safely," he said. "It's our personnel and equipment too. Not everyone has the workforce we have.

"We have the capability to move large volumes of Soldiers and equipment in any weather condition. We've proven that capability," Richardson added. "We are more than an Army airfield that has a combat aviation brigade attached to it; we are a power projection platform for the Northeast."