Picking up the mess, remembering Hurricane Irene

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

01.05.2012

Story by Lance Cpl. Glen Santy 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - In August Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in recent years, and the physical damage was extreme in some cases. Power lines were downed, many trees were uprooted and numerous houses were damaged. Many of the service members based out of the air station came forward and got involved where they were needed. From picking up branches to moving entire trees, the Marines and sailors of MCAS Cherry Point banded together as true brothers in arms to clean up the wreckage left in the storms wake.

“I am very proud of the way the air station handled the storm,” said Col. Philip Zimmerman, the commanding officer of MCAS Cherry Point. “We are very fortunate to have some patient residents on the air station who allowed us to expedite recovery. I was particularly pleased with our cooperation with the local community. The majority of the people who work on the base live in the local community, and as such we faced this hurricane as a community and had excellent cooperation during the storm recovery.”

Zimmerman also spoke about the improvements to the destructive weather plan for the next major storm.

“We are implementing new regional procedures to increase standardization and reporting across Marine Corps Installations East,” said Zimmerman.

After the hurricane had passed the first steps in restoring base operations were to reopen access to all areas and restore power to transmission stations and commercial areas. Afterward, efforts focused on restoring power to residential areas.

Four months after Irene struck, MCAS Cherry Point is still undergoing recovery operations.

“Atlantic Marine Corps Communities is still completing damage repairs to housing areas and we have some minor repairs to complete on the air station and within the forested areas of the base,” said Zimmerman. “We were fortunate no one was seriously injured during the storm. There were several houses severely damaged and are still being repaired today. Although, we fared very well, some of the local community was not as lucky, especially Pamilco County. Fortunately, by utilizing Pedro, we were able to assist Pamilco with their damage assessment of the county.”

Zimmerman stressed the importance of continuing preparations for natural disasters like Irene.

“The air station cannot remain static in our planning,” said Zimmerman. “Every storm is different and you can only prepare the air station in a general sense. The storm has a vote in the timing and damage. The next storm may result in completely different damages and required actions during recovery. Exercises and study of past storms allows us to explore many of the possibilities we may face and allow us to posture forces more appropriately.”

• Date Taken: 01.05.2012
• Date Posted: 01.06.2012 11:53
• Story ID: 82112
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, US