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JB MDL plows through winter blast

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Bryan M. Swink
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Joint base maintenance crews were busy clearing streets and runways after one of the largest sets of snow storms hit the northeast in early February.

The 87th Civil Engineer Squadron has 167 military, civilian and contract personnel assigned to ensure the runways, ranges, and streets are clear, said Air Force Col. Michael W. Carrell, 87th Mission Support Group commander. They have spent approximately 5,500 man hours dealing with the wintery blast.

The base's top priorities are to keep the two airfields open to be able to launch and retrieve aircraft and to keep the training ranges clear to ensure mobilizing soldiers can complete training, said Colonel Carrell.

Members of the 305th Operational Support Squadron, Weather Flight typically issue weather warnings with about three days advance notice. The warning instigates a preparation phase for the 87th CES personnel. Manpower is broken up into three tiers with a day and night shift that are put on telephone stand-by. When all three tiers are needed to report, which was the case for the last two storms, there are approximately 40 people per shift which includes the controllers, pit crew and 87th MSG augmentees.

To clear the runways, ranges and streets, 76 pieces of equipment including trucks, loaders, graders, plows, blowers and spreaders were all tested to ensure they were operational and loaded with liquid chemical and salt. Military, civilians and contractors combine efforts to ensure their equipment is operational and required supplies such as chemicals, salt and sand are stocked and ready.

"Our team performed heroically throughout the six days of the storms, often through blizzard and whiteout conditions," said Colonel Carrell. "They never complained, but instead kept a great attitude and persevered through two of the three worst storms in the Philadelphia-New Jersey area's history."

At times, the plow crews were faced with white-out conditions and visibility less than 20 feet, Mr. Bill Garron, 87th CES Operations Chief explained. Many people have worked extremely hard throughout this ordeal but the airfield snow crews are going above and beyond. They have literally worked non-stop since Feb. 5 and will continue to push forward until completion.

A big challenge was finding a way to remove 15 to 20 inches of snow that covered over 120 acres of airfield pavement. The airfield snow plows and blowers can only move snow a certain distance, so snow piles were built along the ramp. Contractor support has been called to haul the snow piles out of the way. An estimated 450 to 500 truckloads have been moved which equates to approximately 10,000 cubic yards of snow.

"We would also like to mention the great support civil engineers received from the 87th Logistical Readiness Squadron," said Mr. Garron. "They too have worked around the clock keeping all of the plow equipment operational."

The Joint Base has used a total of 408 tons of salt, 80 tons of sand, 6,000 gallons of liquid airfield chemical, 20 tons of street chemical. JB MDL has not had a problem receiving salt and chemicals like many cities throughout the northeast.

The last time JB MDL has seen snow of this magnitude was during the 1995 to 1996 snow season when approximately 65 inches of snow fell in the local area. The 305th Operational Support Squadron Weather Flight team reported the joint base has received about 60 inches this year, with a few weeks of winter still to go.