JB MDL mission partners sweep snow

Published Jan. 8, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Sean M. Crowe
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst mission partners rallied to clear the snow following a winter storm Jan. 2, 2014, here.

The agencies, including the 87th Civil Engineer Squadron Snow Team, 87th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle maintenance, 305th Operational Support Squadron Weather Flight and 305th Maintenance Group, coordinated all aspects from forecasting through removal and everything in between to keep the base's missions running despite the approximate 8 inches of snow the storm left scattered on the roads and airfield.

The process begins when the Weather Flight observes an incoming weather event that calls for a significant amount of snowfall. The forecasters provide details such as expected temperature, fall rate and accumulation to key leaders two days prior to the event.

"We aim to provide the most accurate details possible to commanders to arm them with the knowledge to make informed decisions," said Senior Master Sgt. Marc Allen, Weather Flight NCO in charge. "We provide details so they can determine removal priorities, reporting conditions and personnel demands."

The information is given to the 305th Maintenance Group's Snow Control Officer, or SNOF, who directly organizes Snow Control's efforts with the Snow Team NCOIC.

The NCOIC then has two team leads, who are in charge of the airfield and base roads snow removal respectively, assess their areas of responsibility to help plan a course of action.

The assigned SNOF and the Snow Team NCOIC, Tech. Sgt. William White, use the weather forecast and team lead observations to create a course of action for removal.
The course of action includes required manning and the flying mission priorities pushed down from the 305th Operations Group.

"We make our plan and follow our checklists but the weather is unpredictable and inevitably forces us to evolve our strategy," said White. "The process is always changing throughout the event."

Snow Control team members will set out with specialized equipment including airfield plows, airfield brooms, blowers and dispensers for anti-corrosive deicing chemicals.

The first priority for snow removal on the airfield is the runway and descending priorities follow suit of the main ramp then departing and arriving aircraft. The team then follows a checklist to remove the rest of the snow.

"Aircraft scheduling receives information about the event and will schedule aircraft movement around the event details Weather Flight gives them," said Allen. "Snow control makes every effort to keep the mission running as smoothly as possible for the aircraft."

The airfield removal is just as important as the road snow removal and warrants a designated team for each of these areas.

The road snow removal team operates in an almost identical manner prioritizing areas for clearing and working down the checklist. Higher-traffic areas, such as gates, and emergency response necessity warrant higher priority for snow clearance. The road teams uses similar equipment geared for use on the normal roads.

The Snow Teams removal vehicles are notorious for breaking down and needing repairs frequently, so they need the Transportation section to keep the vehicles up and running.

"The rigorous demands of our vehicles require constant upkeep and repairs, which is where 87th LRS comes into play repairing our vehicles for us," said White.

The 87th LRS transportation section provides Snow Control with mechanics dedicated to temporary and permanent fixes to the snow-removal equipment.

"Teamwork is a huge part of ridding the snow," said White. "We work very closely with the Transportation section and continuously foster our working relationship with the mechanics and leadership. Every organization plays its part, including the small ones."

The Flight Kitchen provides box lunches to the Snow Control members since they spend so much time in the Snow Control hangar, or snow barn, furthering the team effort.

"We try to coordinate as much as possible with our partners to maximize effectiveness," said White. "It can be difficult with the uncertain nature of weather, so we plan for the worst, hope for the best and push to get the job done."

The various agencies recover and prepare for the next event upon completion of snow removal. Snow Control cleans and repairs their vehicles and restocks on needed supplies, such as salt, while the Weather Flight stays vigilant for upcoming weather.

The mission partners had readied themselves for this storm, but still had obstacles to overcome. The storm forced 305th OSS Airfield Management to stop airfield operations for approximately 15 hours.

"The temperature did not work in our favor for this storm and made it extremely difficult to de-ice the roads and runways," said White. "The salt will not work well if the temperature is too low and the accumulation rate made it that much more difficult to keep up. Nonetheless, we persevere and finish the job."

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