Eielson, Wainwright snow removal crews team up for mission

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shad Eidson
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Fort Wainwright crews remove snow off the flightline to accomplish their mission. But when the need came down for heavy airlift, they called for support from the local team that meets those requirements regularly -- Eielson's snow removal team.

The 354th Civil Engineer Squadron horizontal construction flight, or snow barn, have been the obvious choice for years as the shop has specialized equipment that can clear ice and snow down to the flight line tarmac.

"They called us to support their upcoming requirement since we have the equipment to clear off the last bits of snow, which their graders just can't remove," said Mr. William Ferenc, the shop's day shift equipment operator supervisor. "We have broom and pilot cars here that we use to maintain the flightline."

To support their helicopter and small fixed wing requirements, the Wainwright team has the capability to remove the snow that accumulates on the flightline each winter season. However, a heavy airlift requirement doesn't exist to justify extra equipment expenses.

The Eielson team started assisting our sister service by removing the snow buildup Feb. 29 with two rollovers, which can throw snow up to 40 feet off the path. Then from March 3 to 5, the team brought out one chemical and two broom trucks to clear down to the tarmac.

The broom vehicles can remove any loose snow, ice and frost. As a last resort, the team will use the chemical truck to better strip any remaining ice away, Mr. Ferenc said. The goal is to clear the tarmac enough so it will be considered dry runway conditions and meet requirements for Air Force C-5 Galaxies and C-17 Globemaster IIIs to land.

"The C-5s and C-17s are coming to pick up the 6th Squdron, 17th Cavalry Regiment that Aviation Task Force 49 is sending down to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La.," said Retired Col. Mike Ferguson, FWW airfield safety officer.

"When the Eielson team is done, they will have cleared a 100 foot-wide path down the center of the runway, which is 8,500 feet long," Mr. Ferguson said.

The Army snow removal teams aren't sitting on the sidelines, he said. They are focusing on clearing the excess snow off the taxi ways and parking ramp as minimal snow in those areas will not impact the mission.

"Driving the vehicles on the Old Richardson Highway was the only challenge since the brooms can only go about 18 miles-per-hour," said Master Sgt. David Skipps, shop NCO in charge. "The Army has taken good care of us here by providing warm storage for the vehicles so that we aren't adding wear driving them back and forth each day."

Eielson's snow barn team has cleared the FWW flight line in previous winters on an as-needed basis. The team answered a support call last winter so returning Soldiers could land at their home station versus busing from Eielson and spending additional time away from family.