An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Feb. 12, 2010

D.C. Guard completes 500 blizzard missions

By From a District of Columbia National Guard news release

WASHINGTON, - Soldiers and airmen of the District of Columbia National Guard continue to help in the wake of back-to-back storms that dumped several feet of snow on the nation's capital.

At times, blizzard conditions were so bad that even plows were advised to get off the roads. Meanwhile, Guard members were delivering police, firefighters, paramedics, doctors and nurses to work.

"We have completed more than 500 missions over the course of these two storms," said Army Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz, commanding general of the D.C. National Guard. "We've been operating 12 Humvees stationed at all seven Metro Police precincts throughout the city, fire stations and the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. The missions have been nonstop."

The D.C. Guard's mission included 60 transportation personnel, along with additional soldiers and airmen providing indirect support in the form of logistics, communications, administrative, maintenance and operational support. Guard personnel operated around the clock in 12-hour shifts.

With a possible third storm in the forecast, the D.C. Guard was prepared to continue its mission into next week.

"As long as the district requests our support, we will be there to do our job," Schwartz said. "This is what we do. I'm very proud of our men and women who volunteered to come in and help the district despite the severe conditions, the danger of driving and in lieu of even taking care of their own circumstances."

Guard families always are supportive when their spouses and loved ones are called to duty, the general noted, adding that they deserve just as much credit for supporting this mission.

Despite having two of its major units - the 547th Transportation Company and the 113th Wing - deployed in Iraq, and the 113th Security Forces Squadron deployed to Saudi Arabia, the D.C. Guard has been able to do everything district officials asked of it on the home front, Schwartz said.

 

 

Related Articles
Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief, National Guard Bureau, visits the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, Alaska National Guard, on Fort Greely, Alaska, April 28, 2025. Soldiers of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion operate and secure the ground-based midcourse defense system and are an integral piece of the homeland defense mission to protect the U.S. from intercontinental ballistic missiles using ground-based interceptors.
In Alaska, Nordhaus Sees National Guardsmen Defending the Homeland, Enabling Global Power Projection
By Master Sgt. Zach Sheely | May 1, 2025
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska – From within Alaska’s vast Interior, Alaska National Guardsmen defend the homeland from long-range missile attacks and enable global power projection.Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, the chief of...

Sgt. Jessica Shields, a water purification specialist with the 935th Aviation Support Battalion, Missouri Army National Guard, checks the chlorine levels of the water meant for cooking and cleaning laundry during TRADEWINDS 25 exercise at Teteron Bay, Trinidad and Tobago, April 27, 2025.
Missouri National Guard Water Purification Team Supports TRADEWINDS 25
By Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane, | May 1, 2025
TETERON BAY, Trinidad – Few resources are more critical than clean water for sustaining troops in the field. From cooking meals to maintaining hygiene, a steady supply of safe water is essential to keeping Soldiers healthy,...

Group photo of Delta Company, 341st Military Intelligence Battalion Soldiers standing in front of the Seattle / King County Clinic.
Washington Guard Soldiers Support Clinic Through Language and Compassion
By Joseph Siemandel, | May 1, 2025
SEATTLE – A group of Soldiers from the Delta Company, 341st Military Intelligence Battalion, recently volunteered at a Seattle and King County medical clinic to provide language support for visitors receiving free medical,...