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Record-breaking snowfalls and temperatures — low ones that is — have brought about a lot of snow shoveling for hundreds of National Guardsmen in several states, from the North-East all the way down to Arkansas, North Carolina and Virginia.
The photos and captions say it all:
Soldiers clear snow from the Ashmont/Peabody Square Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority station in Dorchester, Mass., Feb. 15, 2015. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. Glen Kernusky
National Guardsmen help remove snow in Braintree, Mass., Feb. 17, 2015. The Guardsmen are assigned to the Vermont Army National Guard’s Detachment 1, 131st Engineer Company. Vermont and Maine Guardsmen are supporting their Massachusetts counterparts as they respond to recent major snowfalls that have buried areas of the state.
Soldiers from the Massachusetts National Guard’s 379th Engineer Company of Buzzards Bay clear snow caused by Winter Storm Neptune at Bellevue Station, here on Feb. 16th, 2015. They assisted the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and the department of public works in clearing station parking and reducing the size of snow banks.
Soldiers from Detachment 1, 131st Engineer Company, Vermont Army National Guard assisted the town of Brockton, Massachusetts, with snow removal Feb. 13, 2015. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency coordinated the effort after the governor declared a state of emergency earlier this week. National Guardsmen from Vermont and Maine are helping their Massachusetts counterparts in responding to recent major snowfalls that have buried areas of the Bay State. (Photo by 1st Lt. Jeffrey Rivard)
Staff Sgt. Jon Bohannon, a dispersing manager of the 101st Finance Detachment, Massachusetts Army National Guard, clears out fire hydrants during clean-up operations in the wake of Winter Storm Marcus, Feb. 10, 2015, in West Newton. Approximately 200 Massachusetts National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were initially activated to augment the state’s snow clearing efforts after six feet of snow was dumped on the New England area during the past few weeks. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Laura Berry)
Not only do our military assist in snow removal from our roads and in our towns and cities, they also have to keep their own vehicles and aircraft snow/ice free and ready to go:
Airman 1st Class Ryan Galante blows an overnight snowfall from a KC-135R Stratotanker on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Feb. 17, 2015. Galante, assigned to 108th Maintenance Squadron, 108th Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard, operates the de-icing system from a cabin at the end of a 42-foot boom.
Lead photo: Army Sgt. Miguel Familla shovels snow away from a fire hydrant on Nantasket Avenue in Hull, Mass., Feb. 11, 2015. The soldiers, assigned to the Massachusetts Army National Guard, assisted local fire departments across the state to clear roads, open access to public buildings and free fire hydrants from mounds of snow. Familla is assigned to the 181st Engineer Company.
All photos and captions: DOD
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.