Unit HomeNewsNews Article Display
MCINCR - Marine Corps Base Quantico

 

MCINCR - Marine Corps Base Quantico

"Crossroads of the Marine Corps"

Unit News
FMS beats the Blizzard of 2016

By Valerie O'Berry | Marine Corps Base Quantico | February 11, 2016

SHARE
Col. Joseph Murray, base commander, and Sgt. Maj. Gerald Saunders, recently visited Facilities Maintenance Section to thank them for the outstanding job the civilian employees and service members did removing snow during the Blizzard of 2016.

The base was only Code Red for one working day, while the federal government had to remain closed for three days due to hazardous road conditions for commuters. “We kept it open, everybody else didn’t,” said Paul Bishop, FMS shop planner for shop 71. He added that it was a team effort, and he singled out workers during the event to thank them personally.

Bishop says that it was “real bad” during the height of the storm and the snow was blowing so hard that the wipers on the snow removal trucks kept freezing up. “We had to keep getting out and busting the ice off the wipers,” he said.

“We would make a pass at the roads and when we came back it didn’t even look like we’d been there,” said driver Elmo Cook. “There was so much snow we didn’t even know where the road was at times. We had to get out of the truck and approximate where the road would be.”

Allan Mitchell, driver, said the snow started letting up at approximately 10 p.m. on the Saturday during the snow and they were able to make good progress after that.

Bishop said they had a plan and they stuck to it — do the main roads first, then the secondary roads, then the parking lots. He also said one of their main priorities was keeping the fire department and PMO dug out so they could perform their duties and in case there was an emergency. “We are safety-driven,” Bishop said.

Both Mitchell and Cook agreed snowplowing is a skill, even though most people don’t think of it that way. “You’ve got to listen to the machine and know if it’s working properly. It’s tedious. People think it’s easy but it’s not. We have a feel for it,” Mitchell said.

The blizzard dumped 25 inches of snow on the Base. But, FMS’ handling of one of the largest snowstorms in history was outstanding.

“I really want to thank each and every one of you for your efforts,” said Murray.

SHARE
Unit News Search