ROCKINGHAM — At a barbecue here last Thursday, Gov. Peter Shumlin and Transportation Secretary Brian Searles thanked Vermont National Guard members for more than a month of exemplary service helping the state recover from flood damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene.
Five Vermont Guard units deployed personnel to numerous locations around the state where they helped Agency of Transportation (AOT) and municipal highway crews rebuild local and state roadways.
“Guard members worked incredibly long hours to help us rebuild Vermont's roads and bridges better than we found them before Irene,” Shumlin said. “Their service and sacrifice will be remembered for generations to come.”
Vermont National Guard road rebuilding crews began demobilizing over the weekend when the storm hit.
Guard units and personnel deployed to aid roadway recovery included members of the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 86th Special Troops Battalion, and the 131st Engineer Company from the Army National Guard, 158th Civil Engineering Squadron from the Air National Guard, and personnel from the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site.
“Between the two types of deployment – federal and state – this type of unit activation is much more meaningful because it takes place in our home state and affects our neighbors, our families, and our friends,” said Capt. Annaliese Baumer, commander of the Colchester-based 131st Engineer Company.
“It is extremely different than deploying overseas,” Baumer said. “ When you hit ground overseas, you are immediately put in a defensive posture which is a drastic contrast to a state deployment.”
Major recovery efforts in the county conducted by Vermont National Guard members included:
• Reconstructing Route 9 near Marlboro where the guard provided trucks and equipment (as well as their operators), and also graded and compacted the road.
• Rebuilding Route 100 around Wardsboro where the guard rebuilt numerous sections of road.
• Rebuilding more than a mile of Pike Falls Road in Jamaica where the road was washed away. The Guard also provided scour protection to bridges, rebuilt numerous wash-outs, and made the entire roadway passable to emergency vehicles.
• Repaired washed out sections of Turkey Mountain Road in Jamaica.
The Guard members also worked on multiple projects in Cavendishand also removed debris from numerous state and town roads, provided scour protection to numerous state and town bridges, and aided AOT with other projects.
“When we first arrived in both Wilmington and Cavendish, we were welcomed with open arms,” Baumer said.
“Citizens thanked us profusely, brought us food and many other comforts of home. They housed us, cooked us meals, gave us haircuts, washed our equipment with their fire trucks, their kids painted us pictures, sang for us and even put on a play at the local school.
“They visited with us daily, shook our hands and took photos of us throughout the work day. Most notably, they shared stories of how Irene affected their families. And virtually everyone did that because Irene affected us all.”