SANDSTON, Va. - The Virginia National Guard has been authorized to bring up to 500 Soldiers, Airmen and members of the Virginia Defense Force on state active duty for assistance with the state's severe winter weather response operations. As of Friday afternoon, heavy snow was falling in areas of the mid-Atlantic and record amounts were forecast.
Virginia Guard members were working almost 25 mission requests from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to provide support to several localities as well as the Virginia State Police in the Northern Virginia area and along the I-81 and U.S. 29 corridors.
Using Humvees, the Virginia National Guard assisted getting Virginia State Police troopers to hard-to-reach locations in multiple parts of the state as well as transporting residents in need of medial assistance and transferring medical supplies from one hospital to another.
Elsewhere, the Delaware National Guard, in coordination with the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, announced it will preposition personnel and vehicles throughout the state in preparation for Winter Storm Jonas, as the projected blizzard was named.
“Current predictions call for heaviest snow in the northern part of the state, but prepositioning troops and equipment throughout gives us the ability to respond wherever needed.” said Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, adjutant general, Delaware National Guard.
Approximately 200 Soldiers and Airmen are on standby and ready to be in place.
In Maryland, about 500 members of the Maryland National Guard were activated to provide support to civil authorities during the state of emergency.The Maryland Guard is in the process of prepositioning personnel and equipment at readiness centers throughout Maryland to support potential missions.
In North Carolina, about 100 Guard members are waiting to assist in the storm.
In New York, the New York National Guard will deploy 25 members of the 1st Battalion 69th Infantry with10 LMVT tactical trucks at the Farmingdale Armed Forces Reserve Center on Long Island as an initial response force to provide mobility and other support to local officials if required. The Soldiers will go on duty Friday night and be on State Active Duty Orders under the control of the governor.
The New York National Guard will deploy 10 Humvees at JFK Airport and 15 Humvees at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn under the control of Joint Task Force Empire Shield (JTFES), the New York National Guard security augmentation force in New York City. If required, these vehicles and 50 personnel will be stationed at FDNY locations to provide mobility support for EMT personnel. Members of JTFES serve on State Active Duty at the direction of the governor.
The plans come as weather forecasters are predicting a snowstorm of massive proportions to strike Middle Atlantic states beginning Friday.
The Virginia Guard plans to stage personnel at readiness centers along the I-81 corridor between Lexington and Winchester, along the Route 29 corridor from Warrenton to Danville, as well as in the areas near Richmond, Fredericksburg and Gate City in order to be ready to respond if needed. The alert process to notify personnel to report for duty has begun, and they are scheduled to be in place by early evening Thursday, Jan. 20, 2016.
"Keeping Virginians safe in the event of severe weather is our top concern," said Gov. Terry McAuliffe in his emergency declaration Thursday morning. "All Virginians should take the threat of this storm seriously and take necessary precautions now to ensure they are prepared for travel disruptions and possible power outages during a cold weather period."
Potential missions for the Virginia Guard and Virginia Defense Force include transportation through heavy snow, downed tree removal, debris reduction and distribution of food, water and other supplies, said Col. Thomas L. Morgan, III, director of joint operations for the Virginia Guard.
"In order to be able to respond rapidly when needed, we will get our personnel in place at key locations before the severe weather hits," Morgan said.
The Virginia National Guard receives their missions through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to assist the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Transportation and other state and local emergency response organizations and is not able to respond to direct support requests from the public, Morgan said.
"If you need assistance because of the winter storm, please call 911 or your local dispatcher and let them know you need help and do not contact the Virginia National Guard directly," he said. "They will determine what emergency services are best suited to assist you, and they will contact us if it appropriate for us to take action."
The Virginia National Guard last went on state active duty for response operations caused by heavy snow, ice and flooding in late February and early March 2015. Over an almost three-week period, more than 330 Soldiers staged at locations across the commonwealth to assist local law enforcement and emergency response organizations with delivering food, water, medicine and other supplies, evacuating citizens for safety and medical assistance and removing snow berms limiting road access with engineer equipment. Virginia National Guard aviators also conducted an aerial resupply mission to deliver supplies to an iced-in Tangier Island.
Since 2001, the Virginia National Guard has called up more than 8,500 personnel for state active duty to support state and local emergency response organizations as part of a coordinated state-wide response, as well as mission in Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, New York and Vermont.
Contributing: Steve Marshall of the National Guard Bureau, the Delaware National Guard and the New York National Guard