Snow Gods (and yes, I have equipment envy)
Last weekend, our nation’s capital experienced a major snowstorm (the Blizzard of 2016). As a native New Englander who has lived in National Capital Region (NCR) for several decades, I can share that the mid-Atlantic does not handle snow events very well. Overall, this one was handled much better than usual. Yes, there was the usual panic resulting in empty grocery store shelves, but then people actually went home and stayed there. Local government did a good job forecasting the seriousness of the storm and the citizenry appeared to listen. Preparations were made, everyone enjoyed a forced weekend at home, and road crews were able to work on the three feet of snow which fell. During the storm, I had the opportunity to work with the men and women of the Maryland National Guard (MDNG), who became my newest group of favorite heroes.
I work as an executive officer with a county police department which borders Washington, DC. On the Friday the storm began, I was placed in charge of coordinating the deployment of MDNG resources which had been requested by our Office of Emergency Management. When they arrived, I went out to see the Humvees we had requested and found nine something elses, which I was informed, were called LMTV’s (Light Medium Tactical Vehicle). Basically these were really cool looking personnel carriers. These weren’t what we had requested, and it turned out that we were very lucky to have them and the full complement of MDNG soldiers who came with them.
I think I assumed that the men and women of the MDNG probably weren’t happy about being deployed. I was wrong. As I met them all, I noticed that they were all focused and ready for their mission. A friend of mine is a full time National Guard executive officer in a west coast state. I remembered when we first met that he told me that he had been interested in the military, but that he wanted a career in which he could also directly help other people and work in his community. He later told me that he wasn’t at all surprised that the MDNG arrived eager to get started on their mission. He advised me that their deployment to assist us was probably exactly what they had signed up to do. He was right. Over the next 72 hours, they slept little, and worked hard. Other Guard units arrived with Humvees. The MDNG was deployed to work with the County’s fire department, police department, Health and Human Services, and our Emergency Operations Center. Their missions included transporting fire/rescue and police personnel in response to calls for service, transporting personnel to and from work, transporting supplies, and transporting medical patients for treatment.
I spoke with some of the Guard members who told me of a call for a medical emergency in which the fire/rescue apparatus couldn’t get through the three feet of snow and into the patient’s neighborhood. A LMTV was dispatched and arrived to find the firefighters furiously digging the snow in an attempt to get to the patient. They were loaded into the back of the LMTV and brought right to the scene.
According to the MDNG website, they trace their origins back to 1634 when two militia captains were part of a group of colonists who landed and settled in what later became Maryland. Maryland militia units later served with distinction during the Revolution. During the Battle of Long Island, the Maryland Battalion conducted bayonet charges against much larger British forces allowing the rest of the Continental Army to escape. References to the “Maryland Line” during this battle were the origin of Maryland’s nickname, “The Old Line State”.
Different divisions of Maryland’s militia served for both the Union and the Confederates during the Civil War. The MDNG was deployed during both WWI and WWII, and served with distinction during the D-Day Invasion and throughout Europe.
On 9/11 the MDNG responded to the Pentagon, and later deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The MDNG also deployed 13 different task forces in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ( www.md.ngb.army.mil/)More recently, the MDNG was deployed in and around Baltimore in response to civil unrest. Who are the men and women who constitute an organization which has played such important roles in the history of our country? I recently had the opportunity to find out.
When the weekend was over, I had the honor of dismissing the MDNG. I thanked them all, and shook every hand. Half of them hugged me, even though they didn’t really know me. It didn’t matter. I realized that these men and women, who spent their other days working as mechanics, teachers, and truck drivers, were everyday heroes who volunteered to serve in the National Guard to make a difference. My friend was right. Actually he usually is. Take a look at the faces in the below picture. Each one of them belongs to an everyday hero who probably doesn’t think of themselves as one.
This is what it means to be an American.
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