When South Carolina is impacted by weather events such as ice, rain or snow, one of the most deployed assets for the South Carolina Army National Guard is the vehicle recovery team (VRT).
During an ice storm that hit South Carolina on Jan. 17, a VRT near the north central border of the State was called in again for support.
With many years of experience working together, members of Field Maintenance Shop 5 (FMS 5) in Rock Hill have provided support during multiple weather events around South Carolina, including the flood of 2015, Hurricane Matthew and many ice storms.
“All of us in the shop, except for one new Soldier, have served together over 10 years,” said Army National Guard CW3 Colin Pressley, FMS 5 shop supervisor. “We’ve even deployed overseas together.”
A VRT is comprised of eight Soldiers who rotate in 12-hour shifts. They are assigned a HMMWV and a M984 Wrecker vehicle. Their primary role is to support the highway patrol in keeping routes clear from any vehicles that become stuck, are abandoned or block access.
“We run two shifts with four Soldiers on each shift,” CW3 Pressley said. “Two are assigned to a HMMWV, and the other two are assigned to the wrecker.”
One of the team’s most memorable calls was during an ice storm years ago, after a vehicle was abandoned in the middle of the interstate.
“We had to move it with cars and trucks passing,” said Army National Guard SGT David Watkins, service maintenance mechanic in FMS 5.
VRTs are directed to locations along routes by the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The locations can vary depending on the conditions.
For the January winter storm that affected York County, FMS 5 was stationed along Interstate 77 off an exit ramp close to Rock Hill.
“It’s nice when we are able to be near a rest stop or gas station during the 12-hour shift,” said SGT Watkins, who has served in the Army National Guard for 15 years. “It gives us access to food, restrooms and a warm place to stay while we wait for any calls.”
The early part of the year kept the recovery units busy. Charleston and areas along the coast were hit by a winter storm that began Jan. 3 and produced up to 8 inches of snow in some areas.
Military recovery trucks are equipped with several different towing mechanisms that are designed to tow and pull heavy vehicles. For assisting civilian vehicles, they use specialized tow straps and chains.
“When towing a civilian vehicle, our concern is to not cause further damage, so we have adapters for our trucks,” SGT Watkins said. “It’s part of our 91B MOS as mechanics to work on vehicles, but we obtain the ASI [additional skill identifier] H8 for vehicle recovery.”
Asked what he likes most about his work in FMS 5, SGT Watkins said, “My favorite thing about this job is the people. You never know who you are going to encounter on a call, and the people are always very appreciative.”
BY SPC Chelsea Baker, South Carolina National Guard
