Missouri National Guard assists local authorities during winter storm

Soldiers of 1175th Military Police Company assist St. Louis first responders. (Photo by Spc. Jacqueline Courtney)

By Spc. Jacqueline Courtney
70th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Twenty two Missouri National Guard Soldiers joined forces with St. Louis County and St. Louis City authorities February 1 to assist with the transportation of officers to emergency response calls after a state of emergency was declared by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon.

The intent of the missions is to support local authorities in critical areas including health and wellness visits, infrastructure power generation, stranded motorist assistance, and emergency route clearance operations.

"With the roads being as bad as they are, police officers are not able to make it to calls," said Spc. Christopher Partin, a military police officer with the 1175th Military Police Company of St. Clair. "We're helping by driving them to the calls and helping them with anything they might need. The roads are bad, but the Humvees handle like a dream."

"Our mission is to support local law enforcement in the city and county," said Capt. Shelby Wilson, commander of the 1175th Military Police Company. "The capability of our vehicles is what we bring to the fight and our ability to be successful in this type of situation is really in credit to our Soldiers."

Police said they were glad to have the captablities of the Guard available, said Capt. Mike Dierkes, the St. Louis County Police Department captain and Affton-Southwest Precinct commander.

"Having the National Guard enables us to have an officer ride with the Guardsman and be able to respond to these calls," Dierkes said. "Officers were having difficulty getting to a house fire call, but because of the National Guard, the officers were able to quickly respond to the scene and make sure the residents were evacuated and no one was injured."

Safety issues and concerns include extreme cold temperatures, debris, slow movement and response time of emergency vehicles due to snow and ice, and electrical failures within the region.

"It's vital for us to have help and assistance from the National Guard in times like this," said John Halliday, a police officer with the St. Louis County Police Department Affton-Southwest Precinct.

The Missouri state mission is to support the governor by providing trained personnel and unit equipment capable of deploying to protect life and protect critical infrastructure, and to maintain peace, order and public safety.

"This is not the first opportunity I've had to work with the National Guard, and just like any time in the past it's been a quick, professional response," said Dierkes. "It's very much appreciated."

The Missouri National Guard has supported 18 State Emergency Duty missions since 2005, including winter storm, flooding and tornado response. The most recent mission was in June 2010 when 50 Guardsmen were mobilized to assist with flooding response in Northwest Missouri.

"Doing work like this is rewarding," said Sgt. Dennis Harter, a military police officer with the 1175th Military Police Company. "People respect you when they see the uniform and appreciate all the hard work being done."

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com