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News | March 22, 2019

Susquehanna’s Roads and Grounds team works to keep employees safe during winter weather

By Brianne M. Bender DLA Distribution Command Affairs

Living in Central Pennsylvania, especially during the winter with unpredictable weather patterns, the daily commute can be difficult. Luckily, Defense Distribution Center Susquehanna in New Cumberland has a reliable team in place for when winter weather events threaten work stoppages.

Susquehanna’s Roads and Grounds team consists of 14 staff members, including one work lead and one supervisor. During challenging weather events, such as the snow and ice storm that shut down the installation Feb. 20, the team pulls from their additional organization’s resources to ensure all steps, handicap ramps and the Child Development Center are free of ice and snow.

The 848 acre installation has approximately 26 miles of roads as well as a multitude of parking lots needing to be cleared in order for employees to safely be able to come to work to complete their No.1 mission—supporting the warfighter.

Once an inclement weather event begins, the team is on-site for the duration. They come in before it starts in order to pre-treat all roads and parking lots and are often on duty for an additional day or so after in order to address drifting, refreezing and any additional cleanups.

Essentially, without the Roads and Grounds team and their pool of resources, Distribution’s mission could be impacted. The team works together to keep installation employees safe, so that the mission can continue with little to no interruption. According to Rob Montefour, director of DLA Installation Management Susquehanna, the large DLA mission could not be completed without the team.

“This is a group of dedicated federal employees that pull together to get the job done, around the clock. One of their opportunities to shine brightest is during adverse weather, and more specifically, winter storms,” said Montefour. The Roads and Grounds team becomes a family during these storms—sharing a living space and watching out for each other’s safety.”

Montefour goes on, “While many federal workers remain at home during these storms, our snow team is on-site and executing the mission of preparing the installation to safely welcome back our full team. It is an honor working with such a dependable, hard-working team.”