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Patience key as hurricane relief efforts continue

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Hurricane Sandy relief efforts staged out of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst are in full swing and as such, there is an increased number of personnel on base.

This may cause congestion on the base roads in some facilities such as dining facilities. Joint-base senior leadership asks community members to practice patience as they make their way to work and go about their day.

"This hurricane has really tested our base's ability to react to, host and sustain a huge influx of federal, state and local personnel as part of the relief effort," said Col. John Wood, JB MDL commander. "We are all doing our part to make sure it goes off without a hitch, but there are still hurdles to overcome."

Dining facilities are doing their part by feeding thousands of Federal Emergency Management Agency contractors while also serving the usual crowd. Base gates, both commercial and general purpose, have increased manning to reduce the chance of congestion. Airmen with the Emergency Operations Center and Crisis Action Team are working around the clock to receive and maintain FEMA workers while ensuring base operations continue unhindered.

"We have been working nonstop to ensure all the Hurricane Sandy relief assets and people are taken care of," said Karen Lamphere, 87th Logistics Readiness Squadron reception control officer. "We're doing what we can to ensure the FEMA workers and their assets get to the right people, in the right places as timely and efficiently as possible. We certainly have become one team."

Being on the same team means understanding there is still much work to be done; teamwork is paramount.

"Everyone on base is working together to make the relief effort happen, which is a beautiful thing," said Chief Master Sgt. Terrence Greene, 87th Air Base Wing command chief. "This can be a very stressful process, but at the end, we will look back and be astonished at what we have accomplished."

Visit the JB MDL home page, www.jointbasemdl.af.mil; and the flickr page, www.flickr.com/photos/jointbasemdl; and the joint-base Facebook page, www.facebook.com/JBMDL; for more information on JB MDL's support in Hurricane Sandy recovery operations.