Photo By Staff Sgt. Manda Walters | Soldiers gather with observer-controllers including Colorado National Guard Chief of...... read more read more
CLARK, Colo. – Colorado National Guard members headed north of Steamboat Springs, Colo., in search of snow to practice annual maneuvers with their snow cats or small unit support vehicles Jan. 26 to Jan. 29.
CONG’s annual Snow Response Team training ensures they are ready if needed for the next Colorado blizzard. The last blizzard of 2007 hit Lamar, Colo. and the SRT's where there alongside civilian rescuers.
First Sgt. Bill Dulaney, SUSV vehicle commander, MATES 64 supervisor and participant in this years Snow Response Training was there.
"We went out before the plows the night of the blizzard in 2007, there were so many vehicles on the road covered in snow." said Dulaney.
Thirty-nine CONG Soldiers traveled from Aurora, Rocky Ford, Colorado Springs, Watkins and Longmont to the snowy hills of Routt National Forest.
The training included instruction and practice in deep snow driving, recovery using a winch and tow rope, wide-area search, cold-weather survival and first aid. Soldiers practiced a quick and efficient response to real-life rescue scenarios.
“Our primary function is to respond to blizzard emergencies where people get stuck in their homes or stuck along the highways,” said CONG Strategic Planning Officer and former Snow Response Tream officer-in-charge, Lt. Col. Joe Grigg.
Each SRT, is comprised of two SUSVs and four to eight crewmembers, depending on the mission. After completing the training, the SRT’s are now better prepared to react and assist local authorities with rescue.
"The crews gained valuable experience maneuvering an almost six-ton machine that drives like a boat and exerts only six pounds of pressure per square inch over the approximately two-foot wide tank-like tracks," added Griggs.
They learned little things can make a difference too.
“I had never been on snowshoes,” said CONG Sgt. Aaron Foster, a Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site 64 (MATES64) mechanic and SUSV vehicle commander, after extracting a mock-injured snowshoer from a deep, wooded ravine. “It was an eye-opener.”
In the event of an emergency in deep snow, the SUSVs can easily climb a 60-degree slope and traverse a 25-degree side. But, when recovering a lost hiker in a densely wooded area, snowshoeing or skiing is a necessary skill for Soldiers who must dismount for rescue.
Each team planned and completed a rescue mission, after receiving coordinates for the snowshoers’ last known whereabouts from cell phone data. The real-life scenario included unplanned problems like loss of winch power and broken snowshoe straps.
Foster added, “We know our equipment a little better, and now I know what to prepare for.”
The approximately 12,000 acres of training area provided four SRTs and eight SUSVs with a small picture of the type of conditions they may face in the event of a snow-related emergency.
CONG’s Land Component Commander, Col. Laura Clellan, who was there to observe the training, was impressed with the realistic training and recognizes it is an integral part of CONG's domestic emergency preparedness.
“Snow response training means CONG is always ready and always there to meet the needs of Colorado and surrounding states,” Clellan added.
| Date Taken: | 01.29.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.10.2015 17:57 |
| Story ID: | 154148 |
| Location: | CLARK, CO, US |
| Hometown: | AURORA, CO, US |
| Hometown: | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, US |
| Hometown: | LONGMONT, CO, US |
| Hometown: | ROCKY FORD, CO, US |
| Hometown: | STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO, US |
| Hometown: | WATKINS, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 201 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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