Twenty-one members of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard supported four Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) missions in northwestern Pennsylvania during a record snowfall Dec. 25–26, 2017.
Service members were positioned at locations in Erie and the surrounding area with equipment, including 10 high-clearance HMMWVs ready to provide requested assistance.
The four missions included: transporting Pennsylvania State Police officers; participating in ambulance calls and transporting medical personnel to work; conducting wellness checks on vulnerable populations; and stationing a liaison at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate efforts.
Through the course of the storm, Guard members assisted disabled vehicles, cleared roads and removed snow at Manchester Commons, a nursing home in Erie.
“We were responding to a minor vehicle accident when we got a call from the EOC that the Manchester Commons nursing home needed help,” said 1SG Jarett Buchanan, C Battery, 1st Battalion, 107th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division. “We started shoveling and kept going for about three hours. They were really thankful, and we were happy to do it.”
During the State activation for the record-breaking 58.5-inch snowfall, Erie County requested assistance from PEMA, which then requested assistance from the Pennsylvania National Guard.
True to their call to be always ready, the Pennsylvania Soldiers were away from their families serving on Christmas Day and, to quote 1SG Buchanan, were still happy to say “that’s what we’re here for.”
BY SGT Zane Craig, Pennsylvania National Guard