MARTINSBURG, W.V., - More than a week after the last of two
back-to-black blizzards pounded the Eastern Panhandle, the West Virginia
National Guard is still assisting hard hit communities.
Stay Behind Force Dragon is comprised of 33 Soldiers based at the 157th
Military Police Company in Martinsburg to assist with snow removal in
Berkeley County. Another dozen Guardsmen are staying at Camp Dawson near
Kingwood, W.Va., to help with missions in Preston and Monongalia counties.
"We'll stay as long as we're needed," said 2nd Lt. Ryan Radcliff, the
Officer-in-charge of the small task force of Soldiers, who volunteered to
stay behind beginning Feb. 17.
For the most part, these Soldiers have been assisting with snow removal
in Berkeley, Preston and Monongalia counties. Guardsmen also performed a
health and welfare mission Feb. 18, when they delivered 10 cases of dialysis
medication to an elderly woman in a remote area of Preston County.
Sgt. First Class Dennis Calain is in charge of the stay behind task
force's engineer assets in Berkeley County. As of Feb. 19, the snow
removal equipment was comprised of three five-ton dump trucks and one
grader.
Prior to that Soldiers were using a military 2.5-yard loader and
three skid steers rented by the Guard to help remove snow.
Calain said between Feb. 17 and the following day,
Soldiers removed 32 loads of snow from Martinsburg's downtown streets. He
said the grader worked on 30 miles of roadway during that two-day period in
rural roads around Berkeley County as well as the city of Martinsburg.
"They were basically on one continuous mission," he said. Certain streets
are still caked with ice, and "we have been widening and clearing streets as
fast as we can."
Radcliff said Mark Baker, who heads Berkeley County's Department of
Highways, and Steve Allen, the county's Office of Emergency Services
director, have pointed the Guard to the roadways that need to be cleared.
"Our equipment has been working around the clock," said Sgt. Gerald
McAteer, who has been coordinating supply and logistics for missions.
Ronald C. Allen, Berkeley County's administrator, said the Guard has been
an asset in providing assistance in the aftermath of the snowstorms which
pummeled the area.
"They have been such great help," Allen said. "I don't know what we would
have done without them."
Allen said the county is getting caught up with its snow removal of
roadways and anticipated that the last missions provided by the Guard in
that capacity might come as early as Feb. 19.
"We are getting in real great shape," he said of the roadways in Berkeley
County.
And Allen credited the Guard with helping to achieve that measure. "We
really appreciate all that they have done."
Sgt. James Riley was tasked by Berkeley County's DOH to use a grader on
Platt Mt. Lane in Inwood Feb. 19 to help remove snow from the hilly
roadway there.
"I'm glad that we can help out the communities in need," said Riley from
his seat on the grader.
The Soldier from the 601st Engineer Company said that's the role of a
Guardsman, helping whenever and wherever needed.
Private First Class Crystal Christian from the 821st Engineer Company has
operated just about every piece of heavy equipment the Army has.
The Soldier began ticking off the various machinery she has operated from
a five-ton dump truck to a backhoe and Bob Cat. Then there's the grader,
bulldozer, scrapper and front-end loader.
"I've run it all except for the crane," she said matter-of-factly.
If given the opportunity, she said she would become certified on that do.
In
other words, the more you can operate the better when it comes to a heavy
equipment operator.
Prior to coming to Berkeley County on Feb. 17, Christian said she
was driving a five-ton dump truck removing mounds of snow in Keyser, W.Va.,
located in Mineral County.
"Some roads - especially the side roads - have been real tight (in
Berkeley County)," she said. "Otherwise they have been fairly decent."
Asked to compare the missions in the two counties, the Soldier said Mingo
is much smaller in comparison to Berkeley County.
"It (Mingo) has one main road and a bunch of side roads," she said. "The
way that the plow truck had plowed the snow on the main road left the view
from the side roads blocked."
But for the most part, Christian said the roadways in Mingo County
were passable.
When asked how long she would stay on with Stay Behind Force Dragon, the
Soldier said she was in it for the long haul.
"I'll stay until the missions are complete," she said. "I am a trooper."
Ironically, Christian's Soldier-husband, Spc. Shannon Christian, has
been deployed to Ramadi, Iraq, for the past six months with the 151st
Military Police Battalion and has complained to her about how cold the
desert can get.
"He said it has gotten quite cold over there, but it's not as cold as it
is here," said Christian. "I told him that I didn't want to hear him
complain."
Stay Behind Force Dragon is comprised of Soldiers from the 601st Engineer
Company, 821st Engineer Company, 115th Engineer Company, 193rd Engineer Haul
Platoon, 2nd/19th Special Forces Group, 157th Military Police Company,
3664th Maintenance Company, 753rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company,
1st/201st Field Artillery and the 1257th Transportation Company.