OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma National Guard concluded a multi-day state active-duty mission helping the Oklahoma Highway Patrol rescue stranded drivers during a winter storm.
Soldiers from the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were dispatched in four teams of 10 to Durant, McAlester and Vinita to assist the Highway Patrol. The teams conducted 10 recovery missions and helped the OHP get more than 100 motorists back on the road safely.
Under the direction of Highway Patrol troopers, Soldiers patrolled highways looking for stranded drivers, cleared blocked roads and even pushed cars by hand back onto Oklahoma streets.
The most significant single accident the Guardsmen responded to was a multi-tractor trailer pile before dawn Feb. 3. The backup caused a traffic jam on Interstate 40 between Okemah and Henryetta for more than eight hours.
Oklahoma Guardsman 1st Lt. Brent Welch, a member of the 45th IBCT’s 1st Squadron, 180th Cavalry Regiment, served as the officer in charge for the Guardsmen based in McAlester who responded to the wreck.
He said once Soldiers arrived, they went vehicle to vehicle checking on motorists waiting for the highway to be cleared. Welch estimated his Soldiers contacted drivers from 85 vehicles and provided blankets, water and food to travelers as needed.
Welch said Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 160th Field Artillery Regiment, used a military wrecker to open a path for smaller vehicles to navigate through the pileup.
“I think it’s fantastic that we had the ability and opportunity for the National Guard to interact with and help our local communities by communicating and working with local law enforcement and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol,” Welch said.
In Northeastern Oklahoma, two teams from the 1st Battalion, 279th Infantry Regiment, 45th IBCT, were staged in Vinitato to support the OHP along the Will Rogers Turnpike. That’s where Pfc. Kevin Trombley was stationed after volunteering for his fourth state active-duty mission in his four years in the Oklahoma National Guard.
Trombley helped one driver who drove into a snowdrift. Trombley and several other Soldiers pushed the vehicle out of the drift by hand and got the driver back on the road.
“This is why I joined. I like being able to help my state and jumped at the chance to do that,” Trombley said. “The Guard plays a big part in helping people, and Oklahomans know we’ll be there for them when they need us.”
In Calera, Oklahoma National Guard members faced a challenge that took more than a few hands to fix. A semi slid off the highway and was in danger of rolling over while a civilian wrecker pulled the big rig out of the ditch.
Soldiers from the 180th CAV and the 700th Support Battalion, 45th IBCT, stabilized the semi’s trailer, preventing it from rolling.
“This is what makes us different from our active-duty counterparts. We are part of the local community,” said Staff Sgt. Julio de León Jr., a wheeled vehicle mechanic with Company B, 700th BSB. “Our presence brings hope to our community, comforts people and gives them a peace of mind that all will be OK.”