FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Members of the 887th Engineer Support Company (ESC), 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, aided the Fort Campbell, Ky., Department of Public Works (DPW) Roads and Grounds Division by assisting in snow and ice removal operations throughout the post.
DPW worked tirelessly through a 24 hour shift between March 2 and March 3 before it requested support from Division. Garrison leaders then determined 887th ESC would support DPW. By 9:30 March 3, members of 887th ESC had made the arduous drive from their various off-post residences through snow-laden roads in order to organize an emergency effort. First Lt. Jessica Gonzales and Sgt. 1st Class David M. Ray, platoon leader and platoon sergeant respectively for 2PLT/887th ESC, coordinated directly with Dan Threatt of DPW and determined that the effort would require four vehicles: two bucket loaders and two motorized graders.
After a quick linkup at DPW, Threatt, Gonzales and Ray determined that 887th ESC would clear priority routes along Wickham Avenue, Indiana Avenue, Tennessee Avenue, Kentucky Avenue, Bastogne Avenue and Screaming Eagle Boulevard. One team cleared along those routes while another team began clearance of the division parking lot.
Over the course of that day and the following three days, various operators from 887th ESC would clear their initial assigned routes as well as multiple school parking lots and accessory routes around post.
Threatt commented on 887th ESC’s performance saying: “Some of the stuff like clearing major intersections and some of the other roads, we would have never been able to get around to clearing without their [887] help. 887 was a great help.” 887th ESC’s efforts allowed DPW to concentrate on spreading brine around post while snow-plowing other major routes. By the end of the week, the combined effort of DPW and 887th ESC resulted in post being reopened and allowed for operations to continue across Fort Campbell.